UnitedHealth Stock Is Rallying. What the Charts Say Comes Next.

UnitedHealth Group stock is showing some bullish technical signals. (Dreamstime)

Healthcare stocks are back in the spotlight, as the market rally continues to spread to sectors beyond tech.

Within healthcare, a few names carry outsize weight and are flashing buy signals from a technical perspective. UnitedHealth Group is firmly in that camp. Although the stock still trades about 50% below its recent 52-week high near the very round $600 level, it is starting to show serious signs of life.

On Tuesday, UnitedHealth stock broke above a bullish inverse head-and-shoulders neckline at $315, triggering a potential measured move to $380—a level that could be reached as early as the first quarter 2026. The technical backdrop is further supported by a confirmed island reversal pattern, marked by a 12% gap-up on Aug. 15, preceded by a sharp 11% gap-down back on May 15. The combination of pattern breakouts and bullish price gaps suggests momentum might be shifting decisively in the bulls’ favor.

UnitedHealth Group closed at $347.92 Tuesday.

Shares of peer healthcare insurer Cigna Group moved modestly higher alongside UnitedHealth’s surge, tacking on 0.4% Tuesday, but the chart suggests it could be ready for higher prices. Shares are currently coiled just above the very round $300 number, forming a bull flag pattern.

Bulls are watching closely for a meaningful breakout above $308, which would clear the flag and open the door for a potential rally toward the $358 area in the coming months. Adding weight to the positive setup is a well-defined triple bottom in the $260 zone—tested in December 2024, January, and again in early August. That said, a breakdown below $295 would undermine the current bullish thesis and shift the momentum back in the bears’ favor.

Cigna Group closed at $302.01 Tuesday.

Humana , another heavyweight in the iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers exchange-traded fund, is quietly outperforming its peers. The stock’s 10% year-to-date gain is outpacing both Cigna and UnitedHealth. Humana stock is riding an impressive seven-week winning streak, having broken a long-standing series of lower highs dating back to the fourth quarter 2022—a major technical shift in character.

Fueling the bullish narrative, the 200-day simple moving average has turned upward for the first time in over a year, signaling a potential trend reversal. On Tuesday, however, the stock fell below the very round $300 number, an area of significant price memory—that was an area of stern resistance three times between November 2024 and this April. It undercut a bull flag breakout just above $300, but this looks attractive near $265.

Humana closed at $273.02 Tuesday.

Write to Doug Busch at douglas.busch@barrons.com