UnitedHealth Group shares rose as much as 2.7% in New York trading on 5 August after senior executives told investors the company is adopting a “return-to-basics” strategy aimed at stabilising its core insurance operations and expanding Optum’s health-services platform. The remarks were made at a 4 August investor lunch co-hosted by UBS that featured Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hemsley, the heads of UnitedHealthcare and OptumHealth, and senior strategy executives. Management said the revamp focuses on pricing discipline, cost controls and selective premium increases, and indicated that artificial-intelligence tools would be deployed to improve claims processing and care management. UBS did not publish new financial guidance, but investors at the event characterised the tone as “constructively cautious” following a period of weaker-than-expected earnings growth. The positive sentiment was echoed by independent analyst ‘The Asian Investor,’ who reiterated a Strong Buy rating, arguing that the stock trades at roughly a 50 percent discount to its historical valuation multiples and stands to benefit from the planned operational improvements. UnitedHealth shares have fallen this year on concerns about medical-cost inflation and regulatory scrutiny of pharmacy-benefit managers, but Tuesday’s move marked the biggest one-day jump since 1 July.