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CVS vs UNH
Which Stock Would AI Choose? CVS Health (CVS) vs. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- UNH has demonstrated stronger recent momentum, gaining approximately 34% over the past 30 days compared to CVS's 13% rise.
- UnitedHealth Group reported first-quarter 2026 revenues of $111.7 billion, up 2% year-over-year, with adjusted EPS of $7.23, prompting a post-earnings rally.
- CVS plans to open 60 new stores in 2026, shifting from prior closures, while maintaining steady performance amid regulatory settlements.
- Both stocks operate in healthcare but differ in focus: CVS emphasizes pharmacy retail and insurance, while UNH leads in managed care and health services.
- Recent market activity highlights UNH's raised 2026 outlook, signaling potential stability amid sector challenges.
Introduction
This comparison examines CVS Health and UnitedHealth Group (UNH), two leading healthcare firms navigating evolving market dynamics. CVS integrates pharmacy services, retail clinics, and insurance through Aetna, while UNH dominates managed care via its UnitedHealthcare unit and Optum health services. Investors seeking exposure to healthcare delivery, insurance, and pharmacy benefit management (PBM) trends will find value here. Amid recent earnings beats and sector shifts, this analysis highlights relative performance, growth drivers, and positioning for traders balancing stability and momentum in a volatile environment.
CVS Overview and Recent Performance
CVS Health operates as an integrated healthcare provider, combining over 9,000 retail pharmacies, MinuteClinic locations, and Aetna insurance operations. In recent market activity, the stock has climbed about 13% over the past 30 days, closing around $82 on May 1, 2026. This uptrend follows announcements of plans to open 60 new stores in 2026, reversing prior closures and targeting smaller, health-focused formats. A proposed FTC settlement on insulin pricing has eased regulatory pressures, boosting sentiment. Broader performance reflects steady revenue from pharmacy services and PBM, though influenced by reimbursement dynamics and consumer health trends.
UNH Overview and Recent Performance
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is the largest U.S. health insurer by market share, bolstered by Optum's pharmacy care and analytics services. Recent weeks saw shares surge over 34% in the past 30 days, closing near $369 on May 1, 2026, driven by first-quarter results announced April 21. Revenues reached $111.7 billion, up 2% year-over-year, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $7.23, exceeding expectations. Management raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to at least $18.25, reflecting confidence in membership growth and Optum expansion despite prior Medicare Advantage (MA) pressures. Sentiment has shifted positively on operational resilience.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
CVS and UNH both anchor the healthcare sector but diverge in models: CVS's retail-pharmacy-insurance integration offers consumer touchpoints, vulnerable to drug pricing scrutiny, while UNH's scale in managed care and Optum provides diversified revenue less tied to physical locations. Growth drivers contrast with UNH's Optum expansion versus CVS's clinic network. Recent momentum favors UNH, but CVS shows lower beta (0.51 vs. 0.41), implying relative stability. Risk factors include MA reimbursement for both, though UNH faces higher scrutiny. Market sentiment leans toward UNH's earnings catalysts amid sector recovery trade-offs.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI models currently lean toward UNH based on superior trend consistency, post-earnings momentum exceeding 30% in recent weeks, raised 2026 guidance, and stronger relative positioning in managed care. While CVS offers value through store expansion and regulatory relief, UNH's catalysts suggest higher probability of near-term outperformance in the current environment.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer. Disclaimers and Limitations
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is CVS is a Buy and UNH is a Hold.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
CVS’s FA Score shows that 3 FA rating(s) are green whileUNH’s FA Score has 3 green FA rating(s).
- CVS’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
- UNH’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
CVS’s TA Score shows that 4 TA indicator(s) are bullish while UNH’s TA Score has 3 bullish TA indicator(s).
- CVS’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 4 bearish.
- UNH’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 5 bearish.
Price Growth
CVS (@Managed Health Care) experienced а +0.62% price change this week, while UNH (@Managed Health Care) price change was -1.06% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Managed Health Care industry was +0.72%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +14.43%, and the average quarterly price growth was +37.57%.
Reported Earning Dates
CVS is expected to report earnings on Aug 05, 2026.
UNH is expected to report earnings on Jul 16, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Managed Health Care (+0.72% weekly)Managed healthcare industry focuses on providing health/medical and disability insurance plans, generally intended to reduce the cost of for-profit health care. The insurance products might be provided through employer-paid (fully or partly) insurance and benefit programs, or through Medicare/Medicaid. Some of the largest providers of managed health care include Aetna, Humana Inc., and Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare.
| CVS | UNH | CVS / UNH | |
| Capitalization | 129B | 369B | 35% |
| EBITDA | 11.1B | 22.8B | 49% |
| Gain YTD | 29.826 | 24.862 | 120% |
| P/E Ratio | 44.43 | 30.62 | 145% |
| Revenue | 408B | 450B | 91% |
| Total Cash | 11.8B | N/A | - |
| Total Debt | 78.3B | 77.9B | 101% |
CVS | UNH | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 23 | 82 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 4 Undervalued | 6 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 71 | 93 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 89 | 64 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 13 | 14 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 6 | 7 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | n/a |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
CVS's Valuation (4) in the Drugstore Chains industry is in the same range as UNH (6) in the Managed Health Care industry. This means that CVS’s stock grew similarly to UNH’s over the last 12 months.
CVS's Profit vs Risk Rating (71) in the Drugstore Chains industry is in the same range as UNH (93) in the Managed Health Care industry. This means that CVS’s stock grew similarly to UNH’s over the last 12 months.
UNH's SMR Rating (64) in the Managed Health Care industry is in the same range as CVS (89) in the Drugstore Chains industry. This means that UNH’s stock grew similarly to CVS’s over the last 12 months.
CVS's Price Growth Rating (13) in the Drugstore Chains industry is in the same range as UNH (14) in the Managed Health Care industry. This means that CVS’s stock grew similarly to UNH’s over the last 12 months.
CVS's P/E Growth Rating (6) in the Drugstore Chains industry is in the same range as UNH (7) in the Managed Health Care industry. This means that CVS’s stock grew similarly to UNH’s over the last 12 months.
| CVS | UNH | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 60% | 2 days ago 54% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 61% | 2 days ago 67% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 66% | 2 days ago 59% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 61% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 59% | 2 days ago 54% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 60% | 2 days ago 51% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 12 days ago 66% | 2 days ago 54% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 59% | 7 days ago 55% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 62% | 2 days ago 57% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 70% | 2 days ago 45% |
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UNH and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, UNH has been loosely correlated with ELV. These tickers have moved in lockstep 64% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if UNH jumps, then ELV could also see price increases.