The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months

6. UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH)

Upside Potential: 31.2%

Market Cap: $391 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 150

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) is one of the largest health care companies in the world. It provides health insurance and healthcare solutions in the U.S. and globally under the UnitedHealthcare and Optum brands.

The company’s Q1 2025 results were modestly weaker, but the outlook was disappointing, which led to substantial turmoil in its share prices (-22% on April 17). Q1 revenue of $109.6 billion came in 2% below expectations, and EPS of $7.2 was around 1.5% below. However, the main negative surprise was the outlook, where the company slashed the adjusted EPS guidance by around 12% to $26.0-26.5, from its earlier guidance of $29.5-$30.0. Investors were quite disappointed by the rare guidance cut as the company has historically guided very conservatively.

Despite the weaker guidance, Whit Mayo, an analyst from Leerink Partners, corroborated his confidence in the company by maintaining a Buy rating with a price target of $520 in a report published around April 23. As the company’s management is working to adjust its plans according to the rising medical costs, the analyst believes that the company’s long-term prospects are intact and sees a solid potential for recovery in 2026. He also believes that earnings will be supported by Medicare Advantage margin improvement next year. In addition, the analyst saw the current valuation as attractive and thus maintained his Buy rating.