IRWD
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
IRWD has the edge over UNH overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
IRWD Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
IRWD's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
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.
IRWD PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 3.6x | $4.85 | — |
| Cheap | 4x | $3.62 | -25% |
| Current | 5.4x | $4.85 | — |
| Fair | 12x | $10.94 | +125% |
| Expensive | 24x | $21.19 | +337% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IRWD has the edge over UNH in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
IRWD Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
IRWD has the edge over UNH on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
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.
IRWD Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.37 | +52% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.90 | +500% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.77 | +$0.83 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.60 | +$0.81 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.13 | +$0.14 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.15 | +$0.18 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.06 | -250% |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.21 | +$6.58 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.01 | +$6.50 |
IRWD has the edge over UNH on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $17.55 over the past year, against $23.89 in early 2025.
IRWD Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $133M | +9% |
| Q2 2026 | $113M | +33% |
| Q1 2026 | $106.5M | +159% |
| Q4 2025 | $47.7M | -47% |
| Q3 2025 | $122.1M | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $85.2M | -9.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $41.1M | -45% |
| Q4 2024 | $90.5M | -23% |
IRWD's revenue is growing: $133M last quarter, up 9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 70% | +8.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 70% | +17 points |
| Q1 2026 | 68% | +139 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -21 points |
| Q3 2025 | 62% | +34 points |
| Q2 2025 | 53% | +27 points |
| Q1 2025 | -71% | -86 points |
| Q4 2024 | 35% | +2.8 points |
IRWD 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 has the edge over IRWD on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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.
IRWD Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $74.6M | +390% |
| Q3 2025 | $47.6M | +382% |
| Q2 2025 | -$15.1M | -145% |
| Q1 2025 | $19.9M | -56% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.2M | -57% |
| Q3 2024 | $9.9M | -70% |
| Q2 2024 | $33.4M | -4.5% |
| Q1 2024 | $44.9M | -44% |
UNH has the stronger cash trend. Its trailing FCF is up 5.2% versus its history, compared with IRWD at down 24%.
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 still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2022 peak: $22.8B over the past year.
IRWD Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.6% | +998K shares |
| 1 year | -5.4% | -9.6M shares |
| 3 years | -10% | -18.7M shares |
| 5 years | +1.8% | +2.9M shares |
| Available history | +7.8% | +12.2M shares |
IRWD has the edge over UNH on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | $92.5M |
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 902M diluted shares, down 0.7% from a year ago, with $5B in buybacks over the past year.
| 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.
IRWD Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 3.1x | Elevated |
IRWD has the edge over UNH on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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's net debt is about 1.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
IRWD Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 61.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 61.2 | Neutral |
IRWD's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 61 (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).
IRWD PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | IRWD | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 5.4x | 26x | 79% below |
| PE % | 25 | 29 | 4 pts below |
IRWD has the edge over UNH on valuation relative to its sector.
UNH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | UNH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 11% below |
| PE % | 47 | 29 | 18 pts above |
UNH is trading at 23x earnings, a 11% discount to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
IRWD Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $3.91 | 24% above |
| 20 week MA | $4.08 | 19% above |
| 50 week MA | $3.95 | 23% above |
| 100 week MA | $2.81 | 73% above |
| 200 week MA | $5.79 | 16% below |
IRWD has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-week averages, but 16% below its 200-week average.
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.
IRWD Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $13.5 | $11.7 | -13% |
| 2021 | $11.7 | $11.9 | +1.3% |
| 2022 | $11.9 | $12.4 | +4.3% |
| 2023 | $12.4 | $11.4 | -7.6% |
| 2024 | $11.4 | $4.45 | -61% |
| 2025 | $4.45 | $3.20 | -28% |
| 2026 YTD | $3.20 | $4.85 | +52% |
IRWD 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.