We recently published a list of Billionaire Israel Englander’s 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) stands against other billionaire Israel Englander’s stock picks with huge upside potential.
Millennium Management is a globally recognized investment firm specializing in multi-strategy hedge fund offerings. Founded in 1989 by Israel A. Englander and Ronald Shear, the firm initially launched with $35 million in capital, including a $5 million contribution from Englander and additional investment secured from Canadian financiers, the Belzberg brothers. Despite early struggles that led to Shear’s departure just six months after its inception, Millennium evolved into one of the largest and most successful alternative asset management firms. As of late 2024, it boasts over $75.8 billion in assets under management.
Headquartered in New York, Millennium has expanded its operations globally, establishing 18 primary offices in major financial hubs including London, Dubai, Singapore, and Tokyo. The firm employs a platform-based investment approach, with approximately 330 independent investment teams operating under a decentralized model. These teams deploy a wide array of strategies across multiple asset classes, including equities, fixed income, commodities, and derivatives. Millennium’s core strategies focus on fundamental equity research, equity arbitrage, macroeconomic-driven fixed income investments, and commodity-based trades. Through this highly diversified, data-driven model, the firm aims to generate consistent, high-quality returns while managing risk effectively across global markets.
Under the leadership of Israel Englander, who remains the driving force behind the firm, Millennium has cultivated a disciplined risk management framework and continuously refined its investment strategies. A graduate of New York University who left his MBA program early to trade on the American Stock Exchange, Englander applied his market-making and derivatives trading expertise to build Millennium into an institutional powerhouse. His innovative approach emphasizes capital allocation to specialized teams rather than direct investment decisions, fostering a dynamic and competitive investment environment that attracts top talent from around the world. By 2011, Millennium was managing approximately $13 billion in assets, and in recent years, Englander has explored opportunities to sell a minority stake in the firm, signaling a move toward broader institutional ownership.
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Millennium reported managing $204.64 billion in 13F securities, with its top ten holdings accounting for 15.5% of its portfolio. It has consistently ranked among the highest-grossing hedge funds, achieving the fourth-largest net gains of any hedge fund since inception. Millennium’s commitment to generating superior risk-adjusted returns, maintaining a diversified investment approach, and embracing strategic innovation has earned it a formidable reputation among institutional investors. With its expansive global presence, proven track record, and disciplined investment philosophy, Millennium Management continues to be a dominant force in the global hedge fund industry.
Our Methodology
For this article, we searched through Millennium Management’s Q4 2024 13F filings to identify billionaire Israel Englander’s stock picks with the highest upside potential. We compiled the equities with upside potential higher than 33% based on analyst ratings and discussed why they stood out as sound potential investments. Finally, we ranked the stocks based on the ascending order of their upside potential. To assist readers with more context, we mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock using data from 1,009 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 363.5% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 208 percentage points (see more details here).
A senior healthcare professional giving advice to a patient in a clinic.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 150
Millennium Management’s Equity Stake: $571.95 Million
Upside Potential as of April 26: 35.56%
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is an American multinational for-profit company specializing in health insurance and healthcare services, headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Operating through its two primary businesses, UnitedHealthcare for insurance products and Optum for healthcare services, the company stands as the world’s ninth-largest by revenue and the largest healthcare company globally based on revenue. Despite its dominant market position, the company recently faced significant challenges that shook investor confidence.
In its latest earnings report, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) surprised investors with an “unusual and unacceptable” earnings miss, as per its CEO. The company reported adjusted earnings of $7.20 per share for the quarter, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $7.29 per share. This disappointing performance triggered a sharp market reaction, with UnitedHealth shares plunging 23% in heavy trading, causing a ripple effect throughout the healthcare sector.
Adding to concerns, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) revised its full-year outlook downward. It now expects 2025 adjusted profit per share to range between $26 and $26.50, a significant cut from its previous guidance of $29.50 to $30 per share. Analysts had anticipated a 2025 profit closer to $29.73 per share. The lowered forecast was attributed to higher-than-expected medical costs, underscoring the financial pressures currently facing the company even as it maintains its leadership position in the global healthcare market.
As of Q4 2024, Millennium Management significantly increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) to over 1.13 million shares, marking a 344% rise from 254,818 shares in Q3. The fund’s stake in the company is now valued at approximately $571 million. Insider Monkey’s database indicated that 150 hedge funds out of the 1,009 funds held stakes in the company at the end of Q4 2024, with a value of nearly $15.98 billion, as opposed to 112 funds in Q3. This surge in institutional interest underscores strong confidence in the stock’s long-term growth and suggests optimism about the company to maintain profitability in a competitive financial sector.
Parnassus Growth Equity Fund stated the following regarding UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“We sold two Health Care positions during the quarter, pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and insurer UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH). UnitedHealth’s business model is becoming higher-risk, which coupled with slowing Medicare Advantage growth and regulatory uncertainty led to us exiting the position.
After the UnitedHealth stock price recovered to its historical multiple in early November, we felt it was an opportune time to sell based on our concerns about slowing Medicare Advantage growth and the company’s growing business complexity and risk.”
Overall, UNH ranks 7th on our list of billionaire Israel Englander’s stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of UNH as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UNH but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
