UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

On February 27, 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) had launched an investigation into UnitedHealth, examining relationships between the Company’s UnitedHealthcare insurance unit and its Optum health-services arm, which owns physician groups, among other assets.

On this news, UnitedHealth’s stock price fell $27.04, or 5.1%, over two consecutive trading days, to close at $498.28 per share on February 28, 2024, thereby injuring investors.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) UnitedHealth never established proper firewalls between Optum and UnitedHealthcare as required by its own policy, and as it told the court in the antitrust action, the DOJ and investors it would do; (2) Firewalls were never properly created for certain business applications; (3) Despite assurances to the contrary, there was never a meaningful technological separation between Optum and UnitedHealthcare that prevented the sharing of customer sensitive information; and (4) as a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.