Shares of health insurance provider Elevance Health (NYSE:EVH) fell 9.9% in the afternoon session after peer, Centene pulled its full-year financial guidance, triggering a sector-wide sell-off.
Centene cited that market growth was “lower than expected” and the number of people making claims was much higher than forecast. This news has sparked fears among investors that the entire health insurance sector could be facing similar headwinds of rising costs and challenging market conditions. The negative sentiment quickly spread, impacting peers like Molina, UnitedHealth Group, and Elevance Health.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Elevance Health? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Elevance Health’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 5 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
Elevance Health is down 2.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $355.71 per share, it is trading 36.7% below its 52-week high of $562.29 from September 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Elevance Health’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,331.
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