ALKS
Alkermes plc
ALKS offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over ALKS overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
ALKS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Stable | |
| Weak |
ALKS's revenue is currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable, but its profitability and balance sheet are under pressure.
UNH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
UNH's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
ALKS PE Valuation
ALKS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
UNH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 18x | $405 | — |
| Cheap | 19x | $325 | -20% |
| Fair | 23x | $410 | +1.2% |
| Current | 23x | $405 | — |
| Expensive | 30x | $526 | +30% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
UNH's PE is in its fair range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
ALKS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect ALKS's losses to shrink, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
UNH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect UNH's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
ALKS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.02 | -101% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.38 | -82% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.90 | -57% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.43 | -34% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.02 | +2% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.08 | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.09 | -18% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.17 | +3.3% |
ALKS has swung to a loss: it lost $0.02 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
UNH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $22.65 | +29% |
| Q3 2026 | $17.55 | -8.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.58 | -33% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.28 | -44% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.23 | -15% |
| Q3 2025 | $19.17 | +25% |
| Q2 2025 | $23.09 | +53% |
| Q1 2025 | $23.89 | +46% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.51 | -35% |
UNH has the edge over ALKS on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
ALKS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $480.1M | +22% |
| Q2 2026 | $496M | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $392.9M | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $384.5M | -11% |
| Q3 2025 | $394.2M | +4.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $390.7M | -2.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $306.5M | -13% |
| Q4 2024 | $430M | +14% |
ALKS's revenue is recovering but still below its 2023 peak: $480M last quarter, up 22% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.5% | -15 points |
| Q2 2026 | 3.7% | -20 points |
| Q1 2026 | -12% | -17 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | -23 points |
| Q3 2025 | 23% | -5.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -3.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4.5% | -7.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 38% | -9.5 points |
ALKS has the edge over UNH on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
UNH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $112.7B | -0.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $112B | +0.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $111.7B | +2% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $111.6B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $109.6B | +9.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $100.8B | +6.8% |
UNH's revenue has held roughly level: $113B last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.8% | +2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.1% | +2.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.1% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3% | -7.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.8% | -4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.6% | -3.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.3% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.7% | -0.4 points |
UNH's operating margin was 5.8% last quarter, up 2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
ALKS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $90.1M | +6.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $137M | -0.1% |
| Q1 2026 | -$169.8M | -291% |
| Q4 2025 | $170.1M | -5.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $84.4M | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $137.2M | -1.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $88.7M | +595% |
| Q4 2024 | $180.6M | +100% |
ALKS still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2023 peak: $227M over the past year.
UNH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.3B | +63% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.1B | +79% |
| Q4 2025 | $160M | -89% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.1B | -61% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.3B | +6.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.6B | +1037% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | +$7.6B |
UNH has the edge over ALKS on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ALKS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.7% | +2.9M shares |
| 1 year | +4.7% | +7.9M shares |
| 3 years | +2.6% | +4.5M shares |
| 5 years | +9.2% | +14.9M shares |
| Available history | +12% | +19.3M shares |
ALKS has 176M diluted shares, up 4.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $27.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $1,000 |
| Q3 2024 | $115.6M |
UNH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -4M shares |
| 1 year | -0.7% | -6M shares |
| 3 years | -3.6% | -34M shares |
| 5 years | -5.5% | -53M shares |
| Available history | -6.6% | -64M shares |
UNH has the edge over ALKS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $3B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
UNH spent $5B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 52% from the year before.
ALKS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.0x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 5.5x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 5.0x | High |
| Q4 2025 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
ALKS's net debt is about 6.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt a year ago.
UNH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
UNH has the edge over ALKS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ALKS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 58.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 53.5 | Neutral |
ALKS's weekly RSI is 59 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 53 (neutral).
UNH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.0 | Neutral |
UNH's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 60 (neutral).
ALKS PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | ALKS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 119x | 26x | 362% above |
| PE % | 96 | 29 | 67 pts above |
ALKS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
UNH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | UNH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 11% below |
| PE % | 47 | 29 | 18 pts above |
UNH has the edge over ALKS on valuation relative to its sector.
ALKS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $43.3 | 8.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.8 | 0.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $39.2 | 20% above |
| 100 week MA | $34.7 | 35% above |
| 200 week MA | $31.2 | 51% above |
ALKS has the edge over UNH on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
UNH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $394.2 | 2.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $400.5 | 1.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $361.2 | 12% above |
| 100 week MA | $376.0 | 7.8% above |
| 200 week MA | $446.6 | 9.3% below |
UNH has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-week averages, but 9.3% below its 200-week average.
ALKS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $20.4 | $21.5 | +5% |
| 2021 | $21.5 | $24.1 | +12% |
| 2022 | $24.1 | $25.5 | +5.8% |
| 2023 | $25.5 | $27.7 | +8.8% |
| 2024 | $27.7 | $29.6 | +6.5% |
| 2025 | $29.6 | $28.5 | -3.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $28.5 | $47.0 | +65% |
ALKS has the edge over UNH on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
UNH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $296.0 | $340.8 | +15% |
| 2021 | $340.8 | $495.4 | +45% |
| 2022 | $495.4 | $531.3 | +7.3% |
| 2023 | $531.3 | $526.5 | -0.9% |
| 2024 | $526.5 | $510.0 | -3.1% |
| 2025 | $510.0 | $331.8 | -35% |
| 2026 YTD | $331.8 | $405.1 | +22% |
UNH has finished three years in a row lower, and it's up 22% so far in 2026.