Did Berkshire Sell UNH Stock Too Early? Retail Traders Think So – Call Its Exit ‘Way Overblown’

• Berkshire sold its entire 5.04 million share UNH position, while also exiting holdings in Visa, Mastercard, Amazon, and Domino’s Pizza.
• Retail traders on Stocktwits largely dismissed Berkshire’s exit, arguing the firm sold between the $250-$290 range before missing UNH’s sharp rebound.
• UNH has rallied roughly 45% since Feb. 10 and surged toward the $400 level after strong earnings, improved Medicare reimbursement rates, and bullish Optum views.

Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) slid 4% in overnight trading on Monday after Berkshire Hathaway confirmed that it fully exited its position in the health insurer during the first quarter, sparking aggressive dip-buying chatter among retail traders.

UNH stock logged its seventh straight week of gains after rising about 4% last week. 

Berkshire Dumps UNH Stake

Berkshire disclosed in its latest regulatory filings on Friday that it sold its entire 5.04 million-share stake in UNH during the quarter ended March 31, marking one of the most closely watched portfolio changes under new Berkshire CEO Greg Abel. 

Berkshire also exited positions in companies including Visa, Mastercard, Amazon and Domino's Pizza, while simultaneously building a new roughly $2.65 billion stake in Delta Air Lines. 

The UnitedHealth investment was originally made in the second quarter of 2025, when Berkshire accumulated shares during one of the stock’s sharpest selloffs in years. Berkshire’s position was later valued at $1.6 billion.

Berkshire Exited Before UNH’s Massive Rebound

UnitedHealth traded mostly between $250 and $290 during the first quarter as investors remained concerned about Medicare Advantage reimbursement pressure, rising medical costs, and uncertainty about Optum Health's margins.

By March 31, UNH closed at $270.59 before staging one of the strongest recoveries in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the following weeks. The stock surged toward the $400 level after stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings, improved Medicare reimbursement, and bullish guidance helped revive investor sentiment around the healthcare giant.

UNH has climbed 45% since Feb. 10, making it one of the best-performing Dow components during the rebound period. The rally accelerated further after UnitedHealth said Optum Health was “performing better than expected, sooner than expected.”

Retail Traders Buy UNH Dip

Retail traders on Stocktwits largely brushed off Berkshire’s exit, with many arguing the conglomerate sold before UnitedHealth’s strongest rebound phase. Sentiment on the platform improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ levels a week ago amid over a 200% jump in chatter over the past week. 

One trader highlighted Berkshire’s timing around the first-quarter lows. “$UNH traded in the $250-$290 range during Q1, where Berkshire fully exited its position,” the user said. “That means they sold between $250-$290 and completely missed the ~+55% move in just 6 weeks.”

A separate trader said, “not gonna buy since I was adding in 250-270s, but way overblown reaction. New leadership at brk is just realigning w new goals post buffet”

Several retail investors also mocked Berkshire’s leadership transition under Abel and said that the firm exited too early. “So let me understand- Medicare reimbursement rates ended up being higher, great Q1 earnings, rotation towards value and compounder names, huge institutional buying, but Abel at Berkshire is a cuck, so this dumped 30 bucks? Ok,” one trader said.

Another trader dismissed the selloff entirely and predicted further upside. “Buffets new intern guy decided to dump that doesn't mean it has to go down,” the user said. “It will be close $400 plus by end of week.”

Some traders also compared the move to Berkshire’s earlier reduction in Apple shares before Apple’s subsequent rally. “UNH has a chance to run to $600 now since they sold all,” one user said. Others viewed the pullback as a buying opportunity rather than a warning sign. “This is creating a nice opportunity,” another trader said. “I’ll buy this sell off tomorrow.”

UnitedHealth Doubles Down On AI

UnitedHealth’s recovery has also increasingly centered around AI. The company is reportedly tracking how frequently some employees use AI tools such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot as part of a broader push to integrate AI across its operations, Bloomberg reported.

UnitedHealth said it has already deployed more than 1,000 AI use cases internally, with company documents reportedly showing the technology has helped avoid more than 15 million calls and process hundreds of millions of claims. 

CFO Wayne DeVeydt recently said AI is advancing “faster than people can appreciate or understand,” while emphasizing that the company sees a major opportunity to lead the healthcare industry through faster automation and operational efficiency. UnitedHealth plans to invest $1.5 billion into AI this year and previously said it is already generating at least a two-to-one return on those investments.

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