UnitedHealth’s $3.5B Surge Propels It to 20th Most-Traded U.S. Equity as Healthcare Sector Gains Institutional Momentum

On October 8, 2025, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) saw a trading volume of $3.5 billion, marking a 33.47% surge from the previous day’s activity and ranking 20th among U.S. equities by volume. The stock closed with a 1.72% gain, reflecting heightened investor engagement amid market dynamics.

Recent developments highlight strategic shifts in the healthcare sector. A key focus has been UnitedHealth’s evolving partnerships with technology firms to enhance data analytics capabilities, signaling long-term operational efficiency gains. Additionally, regulatory discussions around healthcare pricing reforms have intensified, with analysts noting potential impacts on revenue streams for insurers. These factors have drawn institutional attention, as evidenced by the surge in trading activity.

To run this properly I need to pin down a few practical details:

1. Universe • Which market(s) should be scanned each day—U.S.‐listed common stocks only (NYSE + Nasdaq + Amex), or a different universe? • Should ETFs, ADRs, preferreds or other non-common share classes be excluded?

2. Entry & exit price convention • Buy at that day’s close and sell at the next day’s close (overnight hold), or • Buy next day’s open and sell the same day’s close (intraday hold)?

3. Transaction frictions • Assume zero costs/slippage, or apply a commission & bid-ask estimate?

Once those items are fixed I can generate the daily rebalance signals and feed them into the back-test engine.