Oscar Health (OSCR) Stock Trades Down, Here Is Why

Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at Oscar Health and its peers.

Upfront premiums collected by health insurers lead to reliable revenue, but profitability ultimately depends on accurate risk assessments and the ability to control medical costs. Health insurers are also highly sensitive to regulatory changes and economic conditions such as unemployment. Going forward, the industry faces tailwinds from an aging population, increasing demand for personalized healthcare services, and advancements in data analytics to improve cost management. However, continued regulatory scrutiny on pricing practices, the potential for government-led reforms such as expanded public healthcare options, and inflation in medical costs could add volatility to margins. One big debate among investors is the long-term impact of AI and whether it will help underwriting, fraud detection, and claims processing or whether it may wade into ethical grey areas like reinforcing biases and widening disparities in medical care.

The 12 health insurance providers stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.3% below.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 4.8% on average since the latest earnings results.

Oscar Health

Founded in 2012 to simplify the notoriously complex American healthcare system, Oscar Health is a technology-focused health insurance company that offers individual and small group health plans through its cloud-native platform.

Oscar Health reported revenues of $2.99 billion, up 23.3% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 3.3%. Overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with full-year operating income guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

“The individual market is the only source of affordable health coverage for 22 million people who power our economy,” said Mark Bertolini, CEO of Oscar Health.

Oscar Health pulled off the highest full-year guidance raise but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. Still, the market seems discontent with the results. The stock is down 4.1% since reporting and currently trades at $16.55.

Best Q3: CVS Health

With over 9,000 retail pharmacy locations serving as neighborhood health destinations across America, CVS Health operates retail pharmacies, provides pharmacy benefit management services, and offers health insurance through its Aetna subsidiary.

CVS Health reported revenues of $102.9 billion, up 7.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.1%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ same-store sales estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 4.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $78.83.

Weakest Q3: Molina Healthcare

Founded in 1980 as a provider for underserved communities in Southern California, Molina Healthcare provides managed healthcare services primarily to low-income individuals through Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace insurance programs across 21 states.

Molina Healthcare reported revenues of $11.48 billion, up 11% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 4.6%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS guidance for next quarter estimates.

Molina Healthcare delivered the weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The company lost 118,000 customers and ended up with a total of 5.63 million. As expected, the stock is down 2.1% since the results and currently trades at $190.50.

Read our full analysis of Molina Healthcare’s results here.

Alignment Healthcare

Founded in 2013 with a mission to transform healthcare for seniors, Alignment Healthcare provides Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors with features like concierge services, transportation benefits, and technology-driven care coordination.

Alignment Healthcare reported revenues of $993.7 million, up 43.5% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. It was a strong quarter as it also produced a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The company added 5,900 customers to reach a total of 229,600. The stock is up 31.5% since reporting and currently trades at $22.51.

Read our full, actionable report on Alignment Healthcare here, it’s free.

UnitedHealth

With over 100 million people served across its various businesses and a workforce of more than 400,000, UnitedHealth Group operates a health insurance business and Optum, a healthcare services division that provides everything from pharmacy benefits to primary care.

UnitedHealth reported revenues of $113.2 billion, up 12.2% year on year. This number was in line with analysts’ expectations. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded a narrow beat of analysts’ customer base estimates but revenue in line with analysts’ estimates.

The company kept the number of customers flat at a total of 54.08 million. The stock is down 9.2% since reporting and currently trades at $331.50.

Read our full, actionable report on UnitedHealth here, it’s free.

What Happened?

Shares of health insurance company Oscar Health jumped 12.7% in the afternoon session after analyst firm Barclays upgraded the stock's rating to Equalweight from Underweight and raised its price target. 

Barclays increased its price target on Oscar Health to $18.00 from $13.00. The firm's analyst believed the health insurance company was "priced attractively." The upgrade was also based on the view that the market had been "over-discounting the negative outcomes from expiring subsidies." Other factors cited for the positive outlook included the potential for profit margin expansion within the managed care sector and a trend of investors moving away from AI-related stocks and into health insurers.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Oscar Health’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 58 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Oscar Health and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 24 days ago when the stock gained 3% on the news that Stephens & Co. initiated coverage on the stock with an "Equal-Weight" rating. The firm also set a price target of $17.00 for the health insurer. While an "Equal-Weight" rating suggested the stock was expected to perform in line with its sector, the start of coverage itself was viewed positively by investors. This new analysis brought more professional attention to the company, increasing its visibility in the market. Stephens noted Oscar Health's tech-enabled focus on ACA Exchanges as a key part of its business.

Oscar Health is up 11.1% since the beginning of the year, but at $16.63 per share, it is still trading 26% below its 52-week high of $22.47 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Oscar Health’s shares at the IPO in March 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $477.90.

What Happened?

Shares of animal health company Elanco jumped 2.4% in the afternoon session after several top executives, including the CEO and CFO, disclosed significant purchases of company stock, signaling strong internal confidence. 

Company filings revealed that CEO Jeffrey Simmons acquired shares valued at approximately $478,500, while CFO Robert Vanhimbergen purchased stock worth about $150,426. Another Executive Vice President, Rajeev A. Modi, also bought shares for a total of $95,984. Such purchases by a company's own leadership are often seen by investors as a positive sign about its future prospects. 

After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $22.23, up 2.4% from previous close.

Is now the time to buy Elanco? Access our full analysis report here.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Elanco’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 12 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 22 days ago when the stock gained 3.5% on the news that reports revealed the Trump administration considered extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. 

These subsidies, which are government financial aids to help people pay for health insurance, are crucial for insurers as they maintain a stable customer base. An extension would ensure continued revenue for companies with significant exposure to the ACA marketplace. The news prompted a strong positive reaction from investors, with Centene (CNC) shares jumping as much as 8%, Molina Healthcare (MOH) rising over 3%, and Oscar Health (OSCR) soaring 18%. The potential for a two-year extension reduces regulatory uncertainty for the sector, which investors view as a significant positive for the industry's outlook.

Elanco is up 84.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $22.23 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $23.43 from November 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Elanco’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $742.14.