UNH is the most interesting stock today.
Hi! I am an ex-prop shop equity trader. This is a daily watchlist for short-term trading: I might trade all/none of the stocks listed, and even stocks not listed! I am targeting potentially good candidates for short-term trading; I have no opinion on them as investments. The potential of the stock moving today is what makes it interesting, everything else is secondary.
News: [Trump Says US to Set Tariff Rates for Other Nations in Weeks](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-16/trump-says-us-will-set-tariff-rates-for-other-nations-in-weeks)
[**UNH (UnitedHealth)**](https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=UNH&p=d)\-Shares of UNH fell nearly 13% following reports of a DOJ criminal investigation into potential Medicare fraud. The company stated it was unaware of any such probe. Loved this stock trading wise yesterday- premarket we had a "rebuttal" of UNH saying they weren't aware of any DOJ investigation, so we saw the stock spike up 10 points and then fall back, sell off, then hit \~$250 at the low. I think UNH is ridiculously cheap at this price, and even with a DOJ investigation I believe that losing close to $50B in market cap is unjustified.
Managed to snipe the low, currently long and thinking of merging into long-term holdings. Even with triple the damages (standard in this case), damages are \~$5B from my research. I believe UNH is essentially "too big to fail" in the healthcare sector as well, and possible exclusion from Medicare is essentially shooting ACA in the face at this point and screwing over millions of people. Other than that, I have a low enough price to not be too concerned.
[**CHTR (Charter)**](https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=CHTR&p=d)\-CHTR announced a $34.5B merger with Cox Communications, combining their broadband and mobile services to compete with streaming/wireless. Interestingly enough, it's essentially flat but that's because it's illiquid premarket. Right now, post-merger means that CHTR is essentially the largest cable operator in the US. The biggest obstacle here is deal risk from regulators. In the words of Logan Roy, "Money wins".
[**TVTX (Travere)**](https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=TVTX&p=d)\-TVTX's shares declined after the FDA did not grant priority review for its sNDA for FILSPARI (sparsentan) in treating FSGS, potentially delaying its market entry. Sparsentan is meant to slow kidney function decline in adults with primary IgA nephropathy, moved the stock significantly (-20%) yesterday. In the biotech sector, timely FDA reviews are critical for small-cap companies. Delays can significantly screw their revenue and drug pipelines (and investor confidence). Interested to see it closer to $15.
[**NVO (Novo Nordisk)**](https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=NVO&p=d)\-NVO announced CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen will step down amid declining share prices and increased competition in the obesity drug market. We saw a selloff from 67.50 ->62, but frankly NVO is in a tough spot. Wegovy is essentially "last gen" at this point and we have better alternatives. Their new drug CagriSema hasn't had great trial results, so they're frankly still behind. LLY's Zepbound still outperforms. I wouldn't be too surprised if this recovered, (it partially has premarket) but far more interested in UNH today.
Stray thoughts on biotech: Shareholder loyalty is rare because drug discovery is so hit and miss. Look at MRNA's stock price during covid (\~$400 to now \~$25).
