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UnitedHealth drops after announcement that regulator will increase Medicare Advantage audits

UnitedHealth fell nearly 3% in after-hours trading after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that it intends to audit all eligible Medicare Advantage contracts each year.

UnitedHealth is one of the largest providers of Medicare Advantage, which is government-funded health coverage managed by a private insurer. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Department of Justice is probing UnitedHealth on allegations of gaming the system to get bigger payments from the government.

“We are committed to crushing fraud, waste and abuse across all federal healthcare programs,” Mehmet Oz, CMS administrator, said in a statement.

The company’s stock is down more than 40% this year following a string of negative news, including the Journal’s reporting and the stepping down of its CEO.

On Wednesday during the regular session, shares fell more than 5% after The Guardian reported that UnitedHealth offered financial incentives to nursing homes for avoiding transferring patients to the hospital, saving the company money.

“We are committed to crushing fraud, waste and abuse across all federal healthcare programs,” Mehmet Oz, CMS administrator, said in a statement.

The company’s stock is down more than 40% this year following a string of negative news, including the Journal’s reporting and the stepping down of its CEO.

On Wednesday during the regular session, shares fell more than 5% after The Guardian reported that UnitedHealth offered financial incentives to nursing homes for avoiding transferring patients to the hospital, saving the company money.

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Rani Molla

Amazon just matched its longest losing streak in 20 years

Amazon shares marked their ninth straight day of losses — the company’s longest losing streak since 2006.

The milestone follows a fourth-quarter earnings miss, downbeat guidance, and a plan to spend a whopping $200 billion on capital expenditure this year.

Amazon is hoping that by spending big on AI infrastructure now, it will reap rewards from the technology later. Investors aren’t so sure.

Interestingly enough, the current situation sounds quite similar to the one Amazon was in two decades ago. Back then, Amazon endured a similar stretch as it was upping spending on tech and an online toy store — moves that would eat into its profits.

At the time, an asset manager told Bloomberg, “They want to capture as many eyeballs as they can on the Internet and be the go-to place on the Internet, but thats costing them earnings, at least right now.”

Sound familiar? In case you’re wondering, Amazon stock has risen 14,849% since that quote.

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Rivian is on pace for its best-ever trading day as analysts dig into Q4 results

EV maker Rivian is on track to log its best trading day on record Friday, as investors pour in following its fourth-quarter earnings report and 2026 guidance and analysts issue bullish appraisals of the shares.

Rivian shares are up more than 30% on Friday afternoon, easily surpassing its previous best trading day, which came in January 2025.

“We continue to remain confident in the long-term vision that RIVN is amid a massive transformation,” Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives wrote in a fresh note on Friday. The firm maintained its $25 price target and “outperform” outlook and said that the launch of Rivian’s upcoming lower-cost SUV, the R2, is “crucial.”

Rivian received upgrades from Deutsche Bank (to “buy” from “hold”) and UBS (to “neutral” from “sell”) following its results.

On its Thursday earnings call, Rivian said it expects its delivery volume of its existing vehicle lineup to land “roughly in line with... 2025 total volumes.” Given the automaker’s full-year delivery guidance, that statement implies 2026 R2 deliveries to land between 20,000 and 25,000 units.

Self-driving features also appear to be boosting investor optimism. On Thursday’s earnings call, CEO RJ Scaringe said the company would enable “point-to-point” driving in its vehicles later this year. In a podcast interview released Thursday, Scaringe predicted that by 2030, it will be “inconceivable to buy a car and not expect it to drive itself.” Rivian is targeting “a little sooner than that,” he added.

Rivian shares are also likely benefiting from something of a snapback: before the release of its Q4 results, Rivian shares had been hammered recently, down 38% since their recent high in December.

“We continue to remain confident in the long-term vision that RIVN is amid a massive transformation,” Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives wrote in a fresh note on Friday. The firm maintained its $25 price target and “outperform” outlook and said that the launch of Rivian’s upcoming lower-cost SUV, the R2, is “crucial.”

Rivian received upgrades from Deutsche Bank (to “buy” from “hold”) and UBS (to “neutral” from “sell”) following its results.

On its Thursday earnings call, Rivian said it expects its delivery volume of its existing vehicle lineup to land “roughly in line with... 2025 total volumes.” Given the automaker’s full-year delivery guidance, that statement implies 2026 R2 deliveries to land between 20,000 and 25,000 units.

Self-driving features also appear to be boosting investor optimism. On Thursday’s earnings call, CEO RJ Scaringe said the company would enable “point-to-point” driving in its vehicles later this year. In a podcast interview released Thursday, Scaringe predicted that by 2030, it will be “inconceivable to buy a car and not expect it to drive itself.” Rivian is targeting “a little sooner than that,” he added.

Rivian shares are also likely benefiting from something of a snapback: before the release of its Q4 results, Rivian shares had been hammered recently, down 38% since their recent high in December.

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