Shares of healthcare insurer UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) were down more than 7% Wednesday afternoon after falling as much as 9.3% earlier in the day. The drop in the stock came after comments by a company executive at a conference. The stock is down more than 14% so far this year.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs conference in Dana Point, Calif., on Tuesday, Tim Noel, UnitedHealth Group's chief executive for Medicare and retirement, said the company is seeing an uptick in seniors undergoing elective surgeries they had delayed during the pandemic.

That will likely increase costs for health insurers, and UnitedHealth Group's shares weren't the only ones falling on the news as Humana and Cigna Group were down 12% and 4%, respectively, on Wednesday. UnitedHealth's large market cap of $450 billion also meant that the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down Wednesday as well.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com