UnitedHealth slips as CFO warns of higher expenses, sending peers lower

Investing.com -- UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) shares dropped in premarket U.S. trading on Wednesday after Chief Financial Officer John Rex warned that a recent increase in elective surgeries by older adults may lift costs.

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor conference, Rex said this trend could push the group's medical care cost ratio -- a measure of the amount it spends on claims as opposed to the premiums it pockets -- toward the upper range of its full-year forecast in the second quarter.

According to FactSet data, analysts expect the company's medical cost ratio to be at 82.6% for the three-month period, up from 82.2% in the prior quarter.

“We believe the comments are likely to weigh on the entire group,” analysts at Oppenheimer said in a note.

Other health insurers, including Aetna-owner CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS), Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) and Elevance Health Inc (NYSE:ELV), were all dragged lower in the wake of the comments. The firms had been boosted by the delay of non-urgent surgeries like hip and knee replacements during the pandemic.