UnitedHealth Is Approaching a Pivotal Moment. Should Investors Buy the Stock Before July 29?

Re suggests that Interestingly, It's been an awful, horrible, lousy year so far for UnitedHealth Group (UNH 0

Furthermore, If I opened a thesaurus, I could easily find plenty of other apt descriptions for the healthcare giant's performance over the last seven months (which is quite significant)

However, UnitedHealth is scheduled to report its second-quarter results in just one week -- before the market opens on July 29, considering recent developments

This could be a pivotal moment for the company

Should investors buy the stock before July 29

Low expectations UnitedHealth Group heads into its Q2 with decidedly low expectations

Could such solid revenue growth be enough to ignite a rally for the beaten-down stock, amid market uncertainty

Wall Street ly doesn't expect the Medicare Advantage issues to be resolved

On the other hand, UnitedHealth Group hasn't given analysts any reason to think otherwise

Image source: Getty Images

A potential warning sign from a peer Any lingering investor hopes for a major positive surprise from UnitedHealth Group might have been dashed at least somewhat by the Q2 from one of its peers: Elevance Health (ELV 3 (quite telling). 20%) reported disappointing quarterly results on July 17, given the current landscape

Although Elevance beat analysts' Q2 revenue estimates, the health insurer fell well short of earnings expectations (fascinating analysis)

Elevance also lowered its full-year outlook

It blamed the downward revision on "the and industrywide impact of elevated cost trends in ACA [Affordable Care Act] and Medicaid, in light of current trends

Conversely, " UnitedHealth Group won't be immune to negative pressures affecting the entire health insurance industry

Interestingly, Medicare Advantage was one of the bright spots for Elevance in its Q2

That's unly to be true for UnitedHealth in its upcoming results

Public relations blems UnitedHealth Group's dismal stock performance isn't solely because of its financial challenges, amid market uncertainty

The company has also taken hits in the news media

Furthermore, Conversely, On May 14, The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources and reported that the U

Furthermore, Department of Justice had launched a criminal investigation into UnitedHealth's Medicare Advantage

Additionally, The company quickly responded that it had not been notified by the DOJ any investigation and said, "We stand by the integrity of our Medicare Advantage gram. " The Wall Street Journal ran another negative article UnitedHealth Group's Medicare Advantage operations on July 9, given current economic conditions

Moreover, UnitedHealth again responded publicly, stating that the article relied on "incomplete data, a predetermined narrative and a flawed understanding of how the Medicare Advantage gram works. " The company also noted that "after more than a decade of a similar Department of Justice challenge to our Medicare Advantage, the Special Master there was no evidence to support the claims that we were overpaid or engaged in any wrongdoing (this bears monitoring). " On another negative note, The Guardian ran a story on May 21 that claimed UnitedHealth tried to influence care decisions made by skilled nursing facilities

Furthermore, UnitedHealth rebutted the newspaper's allegations in a public statement

It pointed to the multiyear DOJ investigation in which the government ultimately opted not to pursue any actions against the company

Could UnitedHealth Group put to rest the concerns raised by these media outlets when the company vides its Q2 next week

Furthermore, I doubt it (something worth watching)

However, Buy UnitedHealth Group stock before July 29

It's certainly possible that UnitedHealth Group might der Q2 results that are much better than expected

Nevertheless, Additionally, However, I wouldn't count on it

There's at least one thing the company could do in its Q2 that would calm investors' fears to some extent, though: vide d full-year guidance and details on how it will return to growth next year

Moreover, To be, I'm not sure that this would be enough to spark a rebound for UnitedHealth's languishing stock

But it could at least help investors look past the company's current blems

I don't know if UnitedHealth Group will have any news in its Q2 that makes the stock a no-brainer buy before July 29 (remarkable data)

No one does (something worth watching)

However, I can think of one compelling reason to buy the stock sooner rather than later: Its valuation is attractive relative to its long-term growth spects, amid market uncertainty

Awful, horrible, lousy performances can present awesome, fabulous, magnificent buying opportunities for forward-looking investors.