“If I still shorted stocks, I would short United Healthcare,” Mr. Ackman wrote on X on Feb. 4, according to the Financial Times. Mr. Ackman later deleted the post, Bloomberg reported.
Mr. Ackman suggested the SEC conduct a “thorough investigation” of the company.
“I would not be surprised to find that the company’s profitability is massively overstated due to its denial of medically necessary procedures and patient care,” Mr. Ackman wrote.
Mr. Ackman is a billionaire and the founder of hedge fund Pershing Square. He has more than 1.5 million followers on X.
A spokesperson for UnitedHealth told Bloomberg the company reached out to the SEC about Mr. Ackman’s comments. Shares of the company fell 4.3% on Feb. 5.
“Health insurance has long been subject to significant regulatory oversight and earnings caps,” UnitedHealthcare wrote in a Feb. 5 statement. “Any claims that health insurers, which typically have low- to mid-single digit margins, can somehow over-earn are grossly uninformed about the structure and strong regulatory oversight of the sector.”
Mr. Ackman did not comment to Bloomberg. The investor has a track record of making “provocative” and “market-moving” statements, the Times reported.
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