(Reuters) -Shares of UnitedHealth Group surged more than 12% in premarket trading on Friday after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed a new investment in the health insurer.
Berkshire owned 5.04 million UnitedHealth shares worth about $1.57 billion as of June 30, it said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The investment comes at the time when its shares have been battered amid rising health care costs, a U.S. Department of Justice probe related to its billing practices, a cyberattack, and the shooting death of former top executive Brian Thompson in December.
As of last close, the stock remains the worst performer on the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average so far this year, sliding nearly 46%.
Last month, the company projected full-year adjusted earnings per share of at least $16, well short of analysts’ already diminished estimates, while second-quarter profit also missed Wall Street expectations.
Shares were last up 12.4% to $305.1 in premarket trading.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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