I would like to receive updates and special offers from Dow Jones and affiliates. I can unsubscribe at any time.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) stock is still down 40% YTD but has surged more than +20% this month following reports that Warren Buffett, and other billionaire hedge fund managers have taken a stake in the company.

The investment comes as UnitedHealth faces soaring medical costs, federal investigations, the fallout of the killing of a top executive and a cyberattack last year.

Shares of some of UnitedHealth’s peers got a bump in the wake of Berkshire’s investment in the healthcare giant, and they all look cheaper based on price relative to expected earnings.

Buffett's $1.57B bet on UNH sparks a 12% surge, lifting peers despite sector headwinds and recent struggles at the insurer.

While the "vote of confidence" from Buffett's investment validates the long-term value of UnitedHealth shares, the "management needs to regain trust and credibility with investors, and get back to its beat and raise reputation of the past," said James Harlow, senior vice president at Novare Capital Management.

Shares of UnitedHealth Group are surging before the market open Friday as Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it recently purchased shares of the beleaguered insurer

Berkshire Hathaway's $1.6 billion stake in UnitedHealth Group is helping to lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a new record as investors pile into healthcare sector funds.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has acquired 5 million shares in UnitedHealth Group , a regulatory filing showed on Thursday, sending the health insurer's stock up 7% in extended trading.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. took new positions in UnitedHealthcare Group Inc. and homebuilder D. R. Horton Inc., and went deeper into other homebuilding and home-related companies, according to a filing late Thursday.

Buffett owned UnitedHealth shares before selling his stake in 2010, though his Berkshire Hathaway recently acquired shares.