UnitedHealth Stock Just Made Goldman's Conviction List. It's a 'Shrink to Grow' Story. -- Barrons.com
UnitedHealth Group's comeback got a serious boost when it scored an earnings beat a couple of weeks ago. Now, it's being added to Goldman Sachs' U.S. Conviction List -- Director's Cut, an acclaimed rundown of Buy-rated stocks.Goldman likes the healthcare company's plans to get smaller in Medicare Advantage, calling it a "shrink to grow" story.Medicare Advantage, the federally subsidized health insurance program for seniors, is central to UnitedHealth's business and comprises about 40% of its revenue. But the company stumbled last year, tripped up by rising medical costs and changes to how the government reimburses private insurers.This year, Goldman notes, UnitedHealth plans to reduce its Medicare Advantage enrollment by 1.3 million members and decrease membership by about 10% in its value-based care Optum Health business, which provides medical services to Medicare plan members.As profitability in the market bottoms out, analyst Scott Fidel sees a setup for a "sustained positive profi