Billionaire David Tepper Sold Every Single Share of UnitedHealth in Q2. Here's Whether He Made a Costly Mistake.
UnitedHealth still looks like a compelling long-term investment.
Overview
I think David Tepper made a mistake selling UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), and not a small mistake either. When I look at what this company is doing and where healthcare is headed, I would rather buy the stock than walk away.
For context, here's what happened: Tepper is a billionaire hedge fund manager, the founder and president of Appaloosa Management. Tepper didn't trim his stake in UnitedHealth. He sold every share, about 90,000 in total, refocusing his portfolio toward artificial intelligence (AI) with purchases of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Micron (NASDAQ: MU), and Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM), which now account for nearly 40% of his fund. That tells me his move was about concentrating on a narrower theme, not about UnitedHealth losing its edge. In earlier filings, UnitedHealth ranked among his top positions, accounting for more than 10% of the portfolio, indicating he once saw it as a core holding.
Details
So what changed? The obvious worry is medical cost pressure, especially from GLP‑1 weight loss drugs and broader inflation in care. UnitedHealth's Q2 2026 numbers show medical costs of $75.36 billion and a medical care ratio of 86.7%, down from 89.4% a year earlier but still above the mid-80s range the company had framed as its target (lower is better). Some investors see that as a sign that margins will stay under pressure and that insurers will never fully catch up to medical care's rising cost curve. Tepper may have decided that the headache was not worth the trouble.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.