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Analysts Raise Oscar Health Price Target amid Profitability Hopes and New Healthcare Initiatives

Published
31 Aug 24
Updated
04 Dec 25
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AnalystConsensusTarget's Fair Value
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1Y
4.8%
7D
-5.4%

Author's Valuation

US$14.3819.5% overvalued intrinsic discount

AnalystConsensusTarget Fair Value

Last Update 04 Dec 25

Fair value Increased 12%

OSCR: Aggressive Premium Hikes Will Test Margin Recovery Amid Policy Uncertainty

The analyst price target for Oscar Health has been raised meaningfully, with fair value increasing from $12.88 to $14.38 per share. Analysts attribute this change to stronger long-term revenue growth prospects, slightly lower perceived risk, and higher future earnings multiples, despite modestly lower margin assumptions.

Analyst Commentary

Bullish analysts point to a more constructive outlook on Oscar Health, highlighting accelerating membership growth, improved pricing power in key markets, and growing confidence in the company’s ability to scale profitably. Several recent upgrades and price target increases also reflect rising conviction that current valuation does not fully capture the company’s long term earnings potential.

At the same time, more cautious voices emphasize that the operating environment for managed care remains challenging, with policy risk, underwriting cycles, and exchange dynamics all creating potential volatility in results and valuation multiples.

Bullish Takeaways

  • Bullish analysts see the upgraded price targets, including moves into the mid to high teens and above, as evidence that the market is starting to recognize Oscar Health’s stronger growth and margin trajectory, supporting multiple expansion from current levels.
  • Deep dives into key markets such as Miami Dade suggest Oscar Health can simultaneously grow share and profitability, even under conservative policy scenarios, which underpins higher long term EBITDA estimates and justifies a richer fair value range.
  • Expectations for calendar 2027 adjusted EBITDA in the hundreds of millions are increasingly viewed as a base case rather than a bull case, leading some analysts to argue that current valuation underestimates the durability of earnings power.
  • Product and pricing changes, including more competitive offerings across metal tiers and sizable rate increases, are seen as evidence of improved execution discipline, supporting sustained revenue growth without sacrificing unit economics.

Bearish Takeaways

  • Bearish analysts maintain more conservative price targets in the low to mid teens, arguing that the stock already discounts a significant portion of the margin recovery and could struggle to support higher multiples if execution wobbles.
  • There is ongoing concern that the managed care sector is in the midst of its most significant underwriting downturn in over a decade, which could create downside risk to near term earnings and constrain upside to valuation.
  • Some analysts flag a longer path to cyclical recovery in Medicaid and the healthcare exchange, suggesting that policy and subsidy uncertainty may limit Oscar Health’s ability to consistently translate membership gains into high quality, sustainable profitability.
  • While enhanced subsidies are now more commonly assumed to be extended, skeptics caution that any negative policy surprise or delay could pressure growth and margins, forcing a reassessment of long term fair value assumptions.

What's in the News

  • Reaffirmed 2025 guidance, with total revenue expected between $12.0 billion and $12.2 billion and a narrowed operating loss range of $300 million to $200 million (Corporate guidance).
  • Announced a major 2026 expansion of affordable, tech powered individual and family plans across multiple new and existing markets, including Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Ohio, and others, significantly broadening its national footprint (Product related announcements and business expansion).
  • Launched Oswell, a personal health AI agent that uses medical records and benefit data to answer member questions, support refills, interpret test results, and connect members to $0 virtual care, positioning AI as a core differentiator in Oscar's model (Product related announcements).
  • Introduced HelloMeno, billed as the first menopause focused health plan in the individual market, offering $0 primary, gynecologist, and behavioral health visits plus no cost labs and hormone therapy to women across more than 10 states starting in 2026 (Product related announcements).
  • Rolled out an expanded suite of chronic and condition focused plans, including diabetes, COPD, asthma, and cardiovascular kidney metabolic offerings, designed to cap member out of pocket costs and deepen engagement in key high cost populations (Product related announcements).

Valuation Changes

  • Fair Value: increased from $12.88 to $14.38 per share, a moderate upward revision reflecting stronger long term expectations.
  • Discount Rate: edged down slightly from 6.96 percent to 6.96 percent, indicating a marginal reduction in perceived risk.
  • Revenue Growth: moved up from 9.58 percent to 9.92 percent, signaling a modestly more optimistic long term growth outlook.
  • Net Profit Margin: decreased slightly from 2.39 percent to 2.32 percent, incorporating somewhat more conservative profitability assumptions.
  • Future P/E: increased from 13.81x to 15.73x, a meaningful expansion in the valuation multiple applied to expected earnings.

Key Takeaways

  • Higher claims costs and evolving policy risks threaten profitability and future membership growth, despite efforts to reprice plans and leverage digital adoption trends.
  • Regulatory shifts and industry consolidation could inflate expenses and hinder Oscar's ability to realize anticipated technology-driven cost advantages and margin improvements.
  • Digital innovation, strong revenue growth, risk-adjusted pricing, strategic expansion, and financial resilience position Oscar Health for sustained profitability and market leadership.

Catalysts

About Oscar Health
    Operates as a healthcare technology company in the United States.
What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?
  • Recent market-wide increases in morbidity within the individual ACA market highlight Oscar Health's vulnerability to dynamic risk pools-heightening uncertainty in claims costs and putting pressure on the company's ability to maintain or grow net margins and future earnings, even with planned repricing actions.
  • Concerns over potential policy shifts-such as the expiration or non-renewal of enhanced premium tax credits-pose a risk to future membership growth and revenue, as lower subsidies could shrink Oscar's addressable market despite positive digital adoption trends.
  • Increasing regulatory scrutiny and program integrity efforts (e.g., Medicaid redetermination, stricter eligibility enforcement) are driving out low-utilizing members and reshaping Oscar's customer mix toward higher-cost segments, which may elevate the company's medical loss ratio and reduce profitability in the longer term.
  • Industry-wide acceleration toward value-based care and consolidation between payers, providers, and PBMs could exclude Oscar from favorable cost structures and preferred provider rates, limiting Oscar Health's ability to control costs and compressing operating margins.
  • Heightened consumer privacy concerns and the tightening of data regulation threaten Oscar's ability to fully leverage its proprietary technology and data analytics platform for differentiated underwriting and medical management, potentially slowing cost-efficiency gains and dampening margin expansion expectations.

Oscar Health Earnings and Revenue Growth

Oscar Health Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

How have these above catalysts been quantified?
  • Analysts are assuming Oscar Health's revenue will grow by 4.9% annually over the next 3 years.
  • Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from -1.5% today to 2.0% in 3 years time.
  • Analysts expect earnings to reach $245.4 million (and earnings per share of $1.12) by about September 2028, up from $-161.2 million today.
  • In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 16.3x on those 2028 earnings, up from -32.1x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the US Insurance industry at 14.3x.
  • Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 4.57% per year for the next 3 years.
  • To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 6.78%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Oscar Health Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Oscar Health Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?
  • Robust digital adoption and AI-driven efficiencies in healthcare are driving Oscar Health's operating cost reductions-such as a $60 million planned administrative cost cut in 2026-which can lead to improved net margins and set the stage for operating profitability.
  • Oscar Health's strong year-over-year revenue growth (29% in Q2) and consistently rising membership (28% growth, topping 2 million members) demonstrate competitive strength and sustained market demand, supporting top-line revenue expansion.
  • The normalization of higher market morbidity through aggressive repricing (double-digit rate increases for 2026 already refiled in nearly all markets) and productive regulator engagement increase confidence in future margin recovery and a return to positive earnings.
  • Strategic expansion into ICHRA and acquisitions of digital enrollment/broker platforms position Oscar to diversify revenue streams, access broader customer segments (employers as well as individuals), and gain long-term share, supporting both revenue stability and growth.
  • The company's substantial capital reserves ($5.4 billion in cash/investments, $579 million in excess capital at insurance subsidiaries), low leverage, and disciplined SG&A management provide ample liquidity and financial resilience, enhancing long-term earnings power and reducing solvency risk.

Valuation

How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?
  • The analysts have a consensus price target of $11.143 for Oscar Health based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $14.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $8.0.
  • In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $12.4 billion, earnings will come to $245.4 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 16.3x, assuming you use a discount rate of 6.8%.
  • Given the current share price of $20.05, the analyst price target of $11.14 is 79.9% lower. Despite analysts expecting the underlying buisness to improve, they seem to believe the market's expectations are too high.
  • We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.

How well do narratives help inform your perspective?

Disclaimer

AnalystConsensusTarget is a tool utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) that ingests data on consensus price targets, forecasted revenue and earnings figures, as well as the transcripts of earnings calls to produce qualitative analysis. The narratives produced by AnalystConsensusTarget are general in nature and are based solely on analyst data and publicly-available material published by the respective companies. These scenarios are not indicative of the company's future performance and are exploratory in nature. Simply Wall St has no position in the company(s) mentioned. Simply Wall St may provide the securities issuer or related entities with website advertising services for a fee, on an arm's length basis. These relationships have no impact on the way we conduct our business, the content we host, or how our content is served to users. The price targets and estimates used are consensus data, and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and they do not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Note that AnalystConsensusTarget's analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

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