What Happened?

Shares of health insurance company Oscar Health (NYSE: OSCR) jumped 12.7% in the afternoon session after analyst firm Barclays upgraded the stock's rating to Equalweight from Underweight and raised its price target. 

Barclays increased its price target on Oscar Health to $18.00 from $13.00. The firm's analyst believed the health insurance company was "priced attractively." The upgrade was also based on the view that the market had been "over-discounting the negative outcomes from expiring subsidies." Other factors cited for the positive outlook included the potential for profit margin expansion within the managed care sector and a trend of investors moving away from AI-related stocks and into health insurers.

Is now the time to buy Oscar Health? Access our full analysis report here.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Oscar Health’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 58 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Oscar Health and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 24 days ago when the stock gained 3% on the news that Stephens & Co. initiated coverage on the stock with an "Equal-Weight" rating. The firm also set a price target of $17.00 for the health insurer. While an "Equal-Weight" rating suggested the stock was expected to perform in line with its sector, the start of coverage itself was viewed positively by investors. This new analysis brought more professional attention to the company, increasing its visibility in the market. Stephens noted Oscar Health's tech-enabled focus on ACA Exchanges as a key part of its business.

Oscar Health is up 11.1% since the beginning of the year, but at $16.63 per share, it is still trading 26% below its 52-week high of $22.47 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Oscar Health’s shares at the IPO in March 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $477.90.

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