Murdered UnitedHealth Group Exec Received Threats; UNH Stock Tumbles

The chief executive of UnitedHealth Group‘s (UNH) insurance division who was fatally shot Wednesday morning in New York City had received threats, NBC News reported. UNH stock is sliding in Thursday stock market action.

Brian Thompson, CEO of the UnitedHealthcare managed care division, had received “some threats,” wife Paulette told NBC News. She wasn’t clear on the reason for the threats, but gave a sense that they were related to his role leading the nation’s largest provider of health coverage.

“Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”

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Tragedy Cut Short UNH Investor Day

Thompson was fatally shot outside of his hotel in midtown Manhattan at 6:46 a.m. by a masked man. The killing is being investigated as a possible targeted attack. He was in New York for UnitedHealth’s investor day conference, which was cut short after news reports of Thompson’s death were published.

Thompson has been CEO of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021, overseeing more than 100,000 employees. Previously, he led UNH’s government programs business.

Despite the tragedy, UNH stock rose 0.9% on Wednesday, as investors reacted favorably to the company’s new earnings outlook for 2025 and updated outlook for 2024 that were issued late Tuesday.

Attack On Managed Care?

The New York Post reported that the bullets and shell casings used in the slaying had messages written on them, including “deny” and “defend.”

The newspaper further noted the killer’s apparent reference to a 2010 book: “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”

Other reports indicated progress in the case, including a possibility that police know where the gun was purchased.

The targeting of managed-care executives is now being perceived as a threat. UnitedHealth appears to have removed bios and pictures of top executives from its investor relations site.

UNH Outlook

UNH said 2024 adjusted earnings per share will range from $27.50 to $27.75, with the midpoint just above the $27.61 FactSet consensus. For 2025, adjusted EPS will range from $29.50 to $30, compared to an analyst consensus of $29.92. Next year’s revenue should range from $450 billion to $455 billion. Analysts were expecting about $432 billion.

Based on the earnings outlook, Stephens analysts hiked their price target for UNH stock to 675 from 605, keeping an overweight rating.

However, UNH stock tumbled 5.2% on Thursday. Other managed care stocks also were lower, with Humana (HUM) down 1.7%, Centene (CNC) 3.05% and Cigna (CI) 2.3%.

In a Wednesday note, CFRA Research kept a hold rating on UNH. Analyst Daniel Rich wrote, “Thompson’s murder is another setback in a difficult moment for UNH, which continues to deal with fallout from the Change Healthcare cyberattack, legal challenges against the Amedisys (home health) acquisition, and higher medical utilization levels.”

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