Warren Buffett And Michael Burry Each Buy UnitedHealth Stock

Famed investors Warren Buffett and Michael Burry each bought the stock of beaten down insurance company UnitedHealth Group (UNH) during this year’s second quarter.

The latest 13F regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that Burry bought 20,000 shares of UnitedHealth, worth $5.4 million U.S. currently.

Burry is famous for his bet against the subprime mortgage market ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, an event chronicled in the book and film called “The Big Short.”

In Buffett’s case, he took a much larger position in UNH stock during the second quarter, acquiring a stake worth about $1.6 billion U.S.

Buffett, who is the legendary chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A / BRK.B), had shielded his position in UnitedHealth Group for two consecutive quarters before revealing it.

Often times, Buffett requests confidential treatment from the SEC when building a new position in a stock to reduce price movements and volatility caused by investors copying his moves.

In Burry’s case, he also purchased 50,000 shares of Canada’s Lululemon (LULU), 15,000 shares of Regeneron (REGN), and started new positions in MercadoLibre (MELI) and Bruker (BRKR) during Q2 of this year.

In addition to UnitedHealth Group, Buffett started new positions in steelmaker Nucor (NUE), homebuilder D.R. Horton (DRI), and Lamar Advertising (LAMR) during Q2.

Buffett continued to reduce his large stakes in both Apple (AAPL) and Bank of America (BAC).

UnitedHealth stock has been badly battered, having declined 46% this year to trade at $271.49 U.S. per share.

The largest U.S. health insurer has faced a cyberattack that disrupted its operations, as well as government investigations into its billings, and the assassination of a senior executive.

However, UNH stock is up 12% in premarket trading on news that Buffett and Burry are betting on the company and its shares.