TradingKey - A series of setbacks — executive turmoil, rising medical costs, and cyberattacks — have halved the stock price of UnitedHealth (UNH), the U.S. health insurance leader, in 2025. Yet Wall Street’s most legendary investors see a “buying opportunity”: In their Q2 13F filings, Berkshire Hathaway under Warren Buffett and David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management both added significant positions in the stock.
In the 13F filing released Thursday, August 14, Berkshire’s new stake in UnitedHealth drew attention, alongside its “mystery holdings.” With Buffett’s endorsement, UnitedHealth surged nearly 14% in after-hours trading.
UnitedHealth is the world’s largest health insurer, long regarded as a model in the healthcare industry due to its vertically integrated model covering physicians, pharmacy benefits, insurance, and software.
But over the past two years, the company has faced a string of negative headlines, including the largest cyberattack in medical history, rising costs in its Medicare Advantage business, and the assassination of its CEO. These deteriorating fundamentals have led many analysts to avoid the stock.
As of August 14, UnitedHealth’s stock is down 46.33% year-to-date, making it one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500, while the index itself is up 9.98% and at record highs.
2025 UnitedHealth Stock Price (UNH), Source: TradingKey
Despite this, retail investors have shown unique enthusiasm for UnitedHealth, which remains among the top three most-discussed assets on Reddit, alongside Bitcoin and AMD.
In the quarter ended June 30, Berkshire Hathaway purchased 5.039 million shares of UnitedHealth, with a quarter-end value of $1.57 billion. This was Berkshire’s largest new position in Q2, representing 0.61% of its portfolio and ranking as its 18th-largest holding.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Q2 New Stock Buys, Source: WhaleWisdom
Notably, Buffett, a professional insurance investor, previously held over 1 million shares of UnitedHealth from 2006 to 2009, before fully exiting in 2010.
David Tepper, known as the “contrarian investor” who once declared “buy everything China,” also recognized the stock’s long-term value.
Tepper’s Appaloosa Management increased its UnitedHealth stake by 2.3 million shares in Q2, with a value of $764 million, making it 11.9% of the fund’s portfolio and its second-largest holding after Alibaba.
It’s worth noting that during Q2, UnitedHealth’s stock still fell around 40%, failing to rebound like the broader market and major tech giants after the April selloff. Therefore, both Berkshire and Tepper are likely still sitting on unrealized losses from their Q2 purchases.
With the myth of “long-term, consistent outperformance” now broken, some investors now view UnitedHealth’s investment thesis as dependent on management’s ability to restore credibility, rather than near-term profitability.
According to TradingKey, the average Wall Street analyst price target for UnitedHealth is $326.63, implying about 20% upside from current levels.
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