Oscar rallies after it reiterates full-year guidance while CFO delivers encouraging commentary

Oscar Health rose more than 5% on Wednesday after it reiterated its annual guidance at the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference and delivered positive color on how utilization trends (that is, demand for health care) are evolving.

“We saw utilization trends moderating each month throughout the second quarter, we’ve seen a continuation of that moderation to date into the third quarter, so fundamentally we’re really seeing utilization trends which have almost gotten back to what we would’ve expected for the risk in the book,” said CFO Scott Blackley. “Nothing about utilization is causing us to be anxious about the core performance of our book, which is a really good thing at this point in the year.”

Those comments early into the Q&A coincided with a jolt higher in the shares shortly after 10:15 a.m. ET.

The confirmation of its financial outlook comes after the company made a huge cut to guidance in July. Back then, Oscar said it expected to post a $250 million loss from operations for the year, compared to the $250 million of operating income it had been expecting.

Oscar and its health insurance peers that rely on federally subsidized plans have taken a big hit this year amid growing costs. Reaffirming its gloomy guidance may be good news to investors who see it as a sign that perhaps the worst is behind them.