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☆ 15 top companies for career growth according to LinkedIn
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

LinkedIn released its list of great companies in the US for career growth, and Amazon took the top spot. LinkedIn released its annual list of the greatest US companies for career growth. While the companies may be good for long-term career growth per the new analysis, some have made headlines for job cuts. Top locations in the US included below are places that "employed the largest percentage of each company," per LinkedIn. The most notable skills noted for some of the companies below are based on "the most frequent unique skills among a company's employees, relative to other companies," per LinkedIn.

☆ Amazon is the No. 1 company to work for in the U.S. for the third year in a row, according to LinkedIn
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

1 company to work for in the U.S., according to new research from LinkedIn: For the third year in a row, Amazon has claimed the top spot on the networking platform's annual Top Companies list, followed by Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase. Meta, which ranked twelfth on LinkedIn's list last year, was not eligible for this year's list after announcing it was eliminating approximately 13% of its workforce in November 2022. Just last month, Amazon told its staff the company would lay off 9,000 more employees in the coming weeks. 1 on LinkedIn's list for the third consecutive year. Amazon maintained its top spot after making a "significant investment" to support employees' upskilling and raise salaries, says Roth.

UnitedHealth is among the largest players in the Medicare Advantage market, where private insurers offer an alternative to the original Medicare - the federal government's health insurance plan for people aged 65 and older or those with certain disabilities. Medicare and Medicaid memberships make up a third of the company's health insurance business. It added 655,000 Medicare Advantage members and 570,000 Medicaid members in the quarter. Meanwhile, a slow recovery in non-urgent procedures helped lower medical costs at its insurance unit, driving the company's first-quarter profit above expectations. The company's medical cost ratio - the percentage of payout on claims compared with premiums - came in at 82.2%.

BlackRock Inc's (BLK.N) quarterly profit also beat analysts' estimates as investors continued to pour money in the world's largest asset manager's various funds. The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) has lagged the broader S&P 500 (.SPX) this year with a 13% decline, while the KBW Regional Banking index (.KRX) has already lost 20% in its worst performance since 2009. Bank stocks lag S&P 500 this yearThe S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial (.DJI) closed at almost two-month highs on Thursday as economic data showed cooling inflation and a loosening labor market, fueling optimism that the Fed could be nearing the end of its aggressive interest rate-hike cycle. Among other big-ticket earnings, healthcare conglomerate UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) beat estimates for quarterly profit and raised its annual forecast, pushing its shares up 0.7%. ET, Dow e-minis were down 9 points, or 0.03%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 4 points, or 0.10%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 68.75 points, or 0.52%.

☆ UnitedHealth raises profit view on Medicare Advantage strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

UnitedHealth Group beat Wall Street targets for quarterly profit and raised its annual forecast on Friday, as the health insurance provider banks on membership growth in its Medicare Advantage business. Memberships in government-backed plans such as Medicare - which offers healthcare coverage for people aged 65 and older or those with certain disabilities - make up one-third of UnitedHealth's health insurance plans. A slow recovery in non-urgent procedures helped lower medical costs at its insurance unit, driving the company's first-quarter profit above expectations. UnitedHealth raised its 2023 profit forecast to between $24.50 and $25.00 per share on an adjusted basis, higher than its earlier estimate of $24.40 to $24.90. Excluding items, the company reported a profit of $6.26 per share for the first quarter, beating estimates of $6.13.

The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) has lagged the broader S&P 500 (.SPX) this year with a 13% decline, while the KBW Regional Banking index (.KRX) has already lost 20% in its worst performance since 2009. "The retail sales are kind of a disappointment," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. Traders stuck to bets the U.S. central bank will raise its benchmark rate in May by another 25 basis points after the retail sales data. Among other big-ticket earnings, healthcare conglomerate UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) beat estimates for quarterly profit and raised its annual forecast, pushing its shares up 0.4%. BlackRock Inc's (BLK.N) quarterly profit also beat analysts' estimates as investors continued to pour money in the world's largest asset manager's various funds.

☆ Analysts worry about Microsoft's cloud but really like Humana. Here's our take on both Club stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

UBS analysts are warning about additional weakness in Microsoft 's (MSFT) key cloud computing, while Morgan Stanley issued a rosy multiyear outlook on Humana (HUM). Here's a look at both notes and how we feel about the stocks, which are both in the Club's portfolio. MSFT 1Y mountain Microsoft's stock performance over the past 12 months. Ahead of all that, UBS lowered its own Azuze revenue growth estimates for Microsoft's fourth-quarter and upcoming fiscal year 2024. The news: Club holding Humana is the "strongest earnings growth story" in the managed care industry, Morgan Stanley equity analysts told clients in a note Tuesday.

☆ 3 reasons big bank earnings are super important to the stock market in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

There are two big watchers on our list for the week ahead, and one of them — believe it or not — is not an inflation reading. The consumer price report (CPI), which calculates the average change over time in prices shoppers pay for goods and services, comes out Wednesday before the opening bell. Other data next week includes the producer price index report on Thursday and the retail sales report on Friday. ET: Consumer Price Index 2:00 p.m. The most important macroeconomic update of the week came on Friday while the market was closed for Good Friday.

☆ How much a part-time TikToker who posts career advice for his 74K followers earns per month — and how he navigates the industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The 27-year-old makes TikTok videos giving career advice to Gen Z and millennial professionals. Now, he has 72,600 followers on TikTok, and has landed brand deals with companies like Google, L'Oréal, Adobe, Kiehl's, and Hollister. He was paid $300 to create three TikTok videos for $100 apiece. "All these brand deals come to me, I don't do any outreach," he said. Here's how much Rocker has made from brand deals in the past six months, which Insider verified with documentation:

☆ Energy and health-care stocks dominate this week's best performers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Health-care names, such as UnitedHealth Group and Johnson & Johnson , also outperformed. About 73% of analysts covering the health-care stock consider it a buying opportunity, and analysts predict it could rise 17%. UnitedHealth shares are down more than 3% in 2023. Johnson & Johnson shares also outperformed this week, up 6.7%. This week, Johnson & Johnson said it would pay $8.9 billion over the next 25 years to settle allegations that talc in its baby powder and other products caused cancer.

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☆ Premarket stocks: These are the only stocks that matter right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Leading the way in growth are tech stocks like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Tesla (TSLA) and Meta (FB). That’s been a boon to large cap tech stocks that are more sensitive to interest rates because they tend to borrow more than established companies and rely more on the prospect of future earnings. But it also means that the current market rally is thin, as the major indexes outperform the average stock. Strong outperformance from the largest stocks often power indexes to rise, said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Schwab, in a note Tuesday. But healthy markets should be characterized by greater participation of the “soldiers” — the rest of the stocks, she said.

☆ How to trade the three names moving markets today: FDX, UNH, and A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow to trade the three names moving markets today: FDX, UNH, and A.I. Payne Capital Management's Courtney Garcia joins 'Power Lunch' to talk through plays for today's biggest movers: FedEx, UnitedHealth Group, and C3.AI.

This comes just days after cooling inflation raised hopes that the Fed could soon end its aggressive monetary tightening. Shares of other energy firms such as Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N) were also up 4.9% and 6.0%, respectively, helping drive a 5.2% jump in the energy sector. The tech-heavy Nasdaq recorded its strongest first-quarter jump of 17% since mid-2020. Among other stocks, shares of American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) and Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) edged 0.6% and 1.3% lower on rising crude prices. The S&P index recorded seven new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 40 new highs and 28 new lows.

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. government announced on Friday a lower than expected 1.1% average cut of 2024 reimbursement rates for health insurers that offer coverage through the Medicare Advantage program, boosting shares of the market's largest players. Health insurers who operate Medicare Advantage plans have come under pressure after the government last month proposed new rules for an audit program to avoid overpaying them. The companies are among the largest players in the Medicare Advantage market in which private insurers are paid a set rate by the government to manage member healthcare. Medicare Advantage covers nearly half of the 65 million people enrolled in the government's Medicare program for people aged 65 and older or disabled. The agency pegged the spending increase in the traditional Medicare program, which in previous years was the main factor determining how much the agency pays Medicare Advantage insurers, at 2.3%, up from 2.1% in its initial proposal.

☆ Dreaded Medical Paperwork Required by Health Insurers to Be Trimmed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Anna Wilde Mathews | Stephanie Armour | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

UnitedHealthcare said it would cut its use of the prior authorization process. The paperwork required by health insurers to get many medical procedures or tests—one of the biggest gripes of doctors and patients—is getting rolled back. UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in the U.S., said it would cut its use of the prior authorization process. Starting in the third quarter, it will remove many procedures and medical devices from its list requiring the signoff.

JetBlue will face "an uphill battle" as it fights the government," said Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute. "If I'm JetBlue, that's where I focus right now, developing that divestiture offer and lining up a buyer to 'litigate the fix,'" said Dryden. Whatever arguments JetBlue uses, a court fight could last six to eight months and cost tens of millions of dollars in attorney fees, legal experts said. Bill Baer, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division under former President Barack Obama, said the government's complaint "shows that there is meaningful competition between Spirit and JetBlue." "JetBlue brags about the 'JetBlue effect,' where they enter a market and fares tend to go down," he said.

☆ Drug-Prices Investigation Focused on Middlemen Opens in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

House Republicans have launched an investigation into the companies that manage drug benefits, dialing up the scrutiny of the middlemen who play an important role in how much medicines cost. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee said Wednesday that it has sent letters to CVS Health Corp.’s CVS Caremark, Cigna Group ’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s OptumRx—the largest pharmacy-benefit managers—seeking documents about the drug-price rebates they negotiate and fees they charge.

☆ Congress Investigates How Pharma Middlemen Affect Drug Prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Jefferies says this under-the-radar health stock can rally nearly 30%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Jefferies reiterated HealthEquity as a buy on Wednesday, noting the company's favorable position in the health savings account market. Analyst Glen Santangelo placed a price target of $84 on the stock, suggesting shares stand to gain nearly 29% from Wednesday's close. HealthEquity shares gained 39% in 2022, but the stock is only up about 6% year to date. Although the stock has "seemingly fallen off investor's radar screens," Santangelo noted that the company is highly favored in the HSA market. "Most importantly, we believe that current consensus estimates underappreciate the impact of higher rates in [fiscal 2025 (calendar year 2024)].

☆ Here's why Gradient's Montagne favors UnitedHealth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHere's why Gradient's Montagne favors UnitedHealthMariann Montagne, portfolio manager with Gradient Investments, joins ‘Power Lunch’ to discuss consumer confidence, inflation and some of her favorite stocks, including UnitedHealth Group, Constellation and Walmart.

☆ Viking Global adds CSX and Fortinet, exits T-Mobile in the fourth quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Viking Global swapped out several positions worth hundreds of millions of dollars in an active fourth quarter for the hedge fund, according to securities filings . Viking, which is run by Andreas Halvorsen, revealed several notable new positions, including a stake in CSX worth more than $480 million. Viking Global also exited several large positions during the quarter, including stakes in T-Mobile and Salesforce that were worth about $446 million and $345 million, respectively, at the end of the third quarter. Other large positions that were zeroed out include Parker Hannifin , Take-Two Interactive and Western Digital . The listed equity holdings for Viking Global totaled about $20 billion at the end of the quarter.

☆ Wall Street puts Salesforce, Nvidia, Humana under the microscope. Here's our take.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Club holdings Salesforce (CRM), Nvidia (NVDA) and Humana (HUM) are the subjects of fresh Wall Street research. The news: It's all about margins at Salesforce, Wells Fargo analysts wrote in a research note Tuesday. The news: Bank of America raised its price target on Nvidia stock to $255 per share from $215, while reiterating a buy rating. Regardless, the shift to accelerated computing , led by NVDA GPU, and away from conventional CPUs is structural," the analysts wrote. The sector's valuation is starting to "appear increasingly attractive," trading roughly 10% below its five-year-average forward earnings multiple, Oppenheimer analysts wrote in a note Tuesday.

☆ How to Invest in the S&P 500
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

The S&P 500 index, short for Standard & Poor’s 500 index, is one of the most widely traded and talked about stock indexes in the world. The Largest S&P 500 Index Funds Ticker Symbols Expense Ratio Fund Size Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund VOO, VFFSX, VFIAX 0.010%-0.040% $792 billion SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY 0.095% $380 billion Fidelity 500 Index Fund FXAIX 0.015% $374 billion iShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV 0.030% $307 billion Vanguard Institutional Index Fund VINIX, VIIIX 0.020%-0.035% $238 billion Morningstar DirectS&P 500 mutual funds vs. S&P 500 ETFsAnother thing to consider is whether you want to buy a traditional mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund, which trades like a stock. Equal weight, value or ESG S&P 500 fundsMoreover, if you’re concerned about the heavy weighting of certain sectors in the S&P index you can invest instead in an equal weight S&P 500 index fund or add those shares to your portfolio. Alternatively, you can buy an S&P 500 value fund, which represents stocks that are considered undervalued or an S&P 500 growth fund, which represents the fastest-growing companies in the S&P 500. Another variation on the S&P 500 index theme incorporates ESG (environmental, social and governance) values while maintaining similar overall industry group weights as the S&P 500.

☆ CVS wants to be the doctor for people on Medicare
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —CVS is buying a primary care doctor’s network, moving the pharmacy deeper into providing physician services for patients. Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, is a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare. In 2018, CVS bought Aetna, making it one of the largest health insurers in the country. “In the last three years, health insurers have become increasingly interested in purchasing primary care practices and employing physicians,” Nicholson said. Additionally, private Medicare plans typically offer higher reimbursement rates from the federal government than traditional Medicare, and CVS wants to capitalize on this, he said.

☆ Factbox: Which CVS rivals also own primary care services
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Here is a list of some big companies that are also providing medical services or have announced similar deals:UnitedHealth Group IncUnitedHealth's (UNH.N) Optum Health business provides services that range from primary care to specialty care such as cardiology and oncology. UnitedHealth last year also announced a deal to buy LHC Group (LHCG.O), which provides healthcare services at home, for about $5.4 billion. Walgreens Boots AlliancePharmacy chain Walgreens (WBA.O) in 2021 took a majority stake in primary care provider VillageMD, which has nearly 400 clinics in the United States including 200 co-located with Walgreens retails stores, as of the end of 2022. VillageMD completed the acquisition of urgent care provider Summit Health in a deal valued at $9 billion. Amazon.com IncAmazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) agreed to buy primary care provider One Medical for $3.49 billion in July to expand its virtual healthcare and add brick-and-mortar doctors' offices.

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