UNH - UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

Companies to Watch: Micron under pressure, Funko sees a pop, concerns for ExxonMobil

Micron, Funko, ExxonMobil, UnitedHealth and McDonald’s are the companies to watch.

3 Top Insurance Stocks to Buy Now

These insurers could produce excellent returns in the coming years.

Dow Jones Today: A Typical Summer Friday

Interestingly, June 21 marks the official start of summer, and the summer months often bring lethargy in the equity markets, particularly on Fridays. That was the case today as stocks, broadly speaking, were mostly listless.Source: Shutterstock To close the week, the S&P 500 fell a scant 0.13%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.24%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also lost 0.13%. Long-term investors can find some solace on the day of the summer solstice with an article in Barron's today indicating Dow 30,000 could arrive sooner than expected."To stick with our 2025 forecast now would be to suggest that stocks over the next 5½ years will climb just 2.1% a year, plus dividends," according to Barron's. "It's possible, but pessimistic. The Dow could reach 30,000 much sooner than 2025."InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsThe article indicates it is possible the Dow sees 30,000 sometime in 2021, a bullish forecast considering the blue-chip index closed around 26,800 today.That is a long-term forecast. Over the near-term, the Federal Reserve will likely dominate the conversation and that is not surprising. For investors hoping for rate cut this year, good news: Fed funds traders bet on such a move in record fashion this week, according to CNBC. Some Mild WinnersBy the end of the day, just two of the 30 Dow Jones stocks were sporting gains of 1% or more. The clear powerhouse was UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), which gained 1.82% on new that it is acquiring health-care payments provider Equian LLC for $3.2 billion. * The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 That is a drop in the bucket for UnitedHealth, which has a market capitalization of $240 billion and a stellar return for Equian's private equity owner New Mountain, which purchased the company four years ago for just $225 million.Defensive names have been getting some attention here in recent weeks and with good reason. Today, Dow component Walmart (NYSE:WMT), on essentially no news to merit a move like this, jump 0.73% to hit an all-time high. The largest U.S. retailer is up almost 20% year-to-date.Pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) added 0.88% after the European Commission approved the company's TALZENNA treatment for breast cancer patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the treatment last October."We are thrilled that we can now offer these patients in Europe, who are often diagnosed at a younger age and have limited treatment options, an effective, once-daily, alternative treatment to chemotherapy," said Pfizer in a statement.Staying in the blue-chip pharmaceuticals space, Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) closed modestly lower, but three analysts raised price targets on the stock to $90, $95 and $96, respectively. In either case, that is some decent upside from Merck's Friday close around $84.50. Bottom Line on the Dow Jones TodayWith all the talk about a potential rate cut, investors should not forget that second-quarter earnings season will soon be here. While glum earnings may be baked into the market at current levels, investors should still expect some less-than-positive sentiment around the second-quarter numbers."As of today, the estimated earnings decline for the second quarter for the S&P 500 stands at -2.6%," said FactSet in a note out Friday. "If -2.6% is the actual earnings decline for the quarter, it will mark the first time the index has reported two straight quarters of year-over-year declines in earnings since Q1 2016 and Q2 2016. It will also mark the largest year-over-year decline in earnings since Q2 2016 (-3.2%)."Unfortunately, the same note indicates analysts are ratcheting down third-quarter estimates with the energy and technology sectors looking like the worst offenders.As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 * 5 Boring Stocks to Buy This Summer * 7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits Compare Brokers The post Dow Jones Today: A Typical Summer Friday appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Dow Jones Fades Late, But UnitedHealth, Exxon Mobil Outperform; Small Caps Nailed

The Dow Jones came to within 44 points of its all-time high Friday but backed off highs. UnitedHealth and Exxon Mobil were top gainers in the Dow.

Stocks - Canopy Growth, Caterpillar Fall Premarket

Investing.com - Stocks in focus in premarket trading on Friday:

Good Time to Sell Health Care Stocks

Bipartisan tongue-lashing and legislative proposals should put a lid on health care stocks during the 2020 election cycle.

UnitedHealth to buy health-payments business Equian for $3.2B, report says

UnitedHealth Group Inc., which just closed on a multibillion-dollar acquisition this week, isn't waiting long for its next big deal: The Wall Street Journal reports that the insurance giant has agreed to buy Equian, which processes health care payments.

UnitedHealth to buy healthcare payments firm Equian for $3.2 bln -WSJ

Stock Market News For Jun 20, 2019

Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday after the Fed kept the federal fund target rate unchanged.

UnitedHealth completes $4.3 billion acquisition of DaVita physician group

UnitedHealth Group Inc. has completed its $4.3 billion acquisition of the physician group of DaVita Inc.

'From the get-go we're on the case': Why Colorado's AG made an unprecedented antitrust move

Colorado’s attorney general has filed a complaint — and reached a settlement — regarding the proposed merger of physicians groups owned by DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) to curtail any decrease of competition that could come with the joining of the two businesses. The complaint was filed to ensure Colorado would get protections for residents in Colorado Springs that would be most affected by the merger. The moves come ahead of a vote from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that approved the $4.3 billion merger of DaVita Medical Group, a subsidiary of DaVita, and Optum, owned by insurance giant UnitedHealth Group.

Dow Jones Today: Stocks Almost Had Some Fed Fun

As was expected, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged following the conclusion of its two-day meeting today. But what market participants wanted was inklings of hope that a rate cut could materialize later this year. That wish was granted, helping stocks rally into the close.Source: Shutterstock Importantly, the word "patient" was not featured in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement, indicating the Fed could take a more proactive approach to managing rates if the world's largest economy starts to show signs of weakness."The Committee continues to view sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective as the most likely outcomes, but uncertainties about this outlook have increased," said the FOMC. "In light of these uncertainties and muted inflation pressures, the Committee will closely monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook and will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion, with a strong labor market and inflation near its symmetric 2 percent objective."InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsOne Fed member, James Bullard, preferred to lower rates by 25 basis points at this meeting. That was not enough to deliver the coveted rate cut, but it was enough to send the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 higher by 0.42% and 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.15%. Winners, But Were There Enough?Yes, the Dow is home to just 30 stocks and in late trading, two-thirds of those names were higher. But if nitpicking is to occur on an otherwise positive day, it is worth noting that Dow's offenders today were all cyclical names. Going a bit further with the scrutiny, several of the Dow losers today were among the index's biggest components. But to be fair, some of these stocks have been on winning streaks and the Wednesday losses were mostly modest. * 7 Value Stocks to Buy for the Second Half UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), the Dow Jones' largest healthcare component, was the blue-chip index's biggest winner today, adding 1.82%. Not to play politics here, but UNH's Wednesday rally occurred a day after President Donald Trump kicked off his reelection at a rally in Orlando.Obviously, the election is a long way out, but as has been note here, UNH and rival healthcare providers have been under pressure amid speculation that Medicare For All could become a reality if a Democrat wins the White House. Again, November 2020 is a long way away, but UNH has been trending higher for almost two months and looks poised to wipe out its year-to-date loss.American Express (NYSE:AXP) was one of the best-performing financial services names in the Dow today. The stock, a Warren Buffett favorite, added 1.01% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Jason Kupferberg put a "buy" rating and a $145 price target on the shares, implying significant upside from Wednesday's close.AXP is a "a worthy investment which offers customers unique experiences beyond traditional rewards points" and "we have been pleasantly surprised to see [American Express] strategically raise card fees to help offset these costs," said the analyst in a note cited by Barron's.Home improvement giant Home Depot (NYSE:HD) ticked higher, aided by the Fed minutes. Lower interest rates often benefit companies with exposure to the residential real estate market, and that rate chatter could aid Home Depot in its quest to break through resistance at the $210 area. If that happens, it could be off to the races for the stock. Bottom Line on the Dow Jones TodayIt is difficult to complain about Wednesday's price action. Sure, stocks could have gained more, but for the most part, investors got what they wanted in terms of dovish Fed commentary. Plus, Fed funds futures are indicating a July rate cut is a real possibility.Fortunately, investors looking to prepare for a rate cut without incurring significantly higher risk can turned to a beloved asset class: dividend stocks and ETFs. Several dividend ETFs hit record highs today and a large batch are withing just a few percentage points of doing the same.As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * 7 Value Stocks to Buy for the Second Half * 7 Hot Stocks to Buy for a Seemingly Sleepy Summer * 6 Chip Stocks Staring At Big Headwinds in 2019 Compare Brokers The post Dow Jones Today: Stocks Almost Had Some Fed Fun appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Stock Market Rises After Fed Says It's Ready To Act

The Dow Jones and other key stock market indexes showed modest gains after the Fed left interest rates unchanged but said it's ready to act.