New Reports Call UnitedHealth’s Earnings Momentum Into Question. How Should You Play UNH Stock Here?

UnitedHealth (UNH) shares closed lower on Tuesday following reports it quietly sold stakes in its business units to private equity firms like KKR (KKR) and Warburg Pincus last year to record up to $3.3 billion in additional profits. 

The timing, with most transactions executed in Q4, and the structure of these deals, which include buyback clauses, suggest the insurance giant may have used them to preserve its 60-quarter streak of beating earnings estimates.