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Investing.com -- Shares of Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had a rare up day on Friday as investors reacted positively to a flurry of insider buying in the beaten-up stock.

UnitedHealth’s stock is up 6% into the close of trading.

The stock has been brutalized this week after the company suspended its 2025 outlook as medical expenditures are expected to be higher than anticipated, the CEO stepped down for personal reasons, and the WSJ reported the company is under a U.S. criminal probe for possible Medicare fraud.

Just after noon on Wall Street, three consecutive SEC filings crossed the tape disclosing three separate insider purchases.

• Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares on 05/15/25 at $271.17
• Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares on 05/14/25 at $320.80
• Director John Noseworthy bought 300 shares on 05/14/25 at $312.16

While relatively small, the buys are clearly a concerted effort by the board to instill confidence in the stock after the massive selloff

Despite this afternoon’s rally, the stock remains down 24% this week and down 50% this month.

Several Wall Street analysts have come out to defend the stock amid the drastic sell-off.

Earlier today, Mizuho analyst Ann Hnyes said, “… the unprecedented -28% decline in the stock (versus the S&P 500 index +1.2%) over the past three trading days, makes the risk/reward attractive in our view.” They note the stock is trading at just 12.5x the firm’s adjusted EPS estimates for 2025.  The analyst maintained an Outperform rating on UnitedHealth, while lowering their price target to $350 from $515.

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