Clover Health Investments Corp (NASDAQ:CLOV), a tech-enabled Medicare Advantage insurer focused on seniors in underserved markets, is trading lower Tuesday afternoon after the Trump administration's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed essentially flat MA payment rates for 2027. Here’s what investors need to know.

• Clover Health Investments shares are sliding. What’s pressuring CLOV stock?

Medicare Advantage Rate Proposal Pressures Clover's Revenue Outlook

CMS signaled a net 0.09% year-over-year increase in MA funding, far below Wall Street expectations for 4%–6% growth, and outlined tighter risk-adjustment rules including limits on diagnoses captured through audio-only visits and stand-alone chart reviews.

For Clover, which generates most of its revenue from MA capitation payments and leans heavily on data-driven risk coding across its Clover Assistant platform, the proposal points to meaningfully slower per-member revenue growth.

A near-zero rate increase means Clover either absorbs higher medical costs or cuts supplemental benefits, potentially making its plans less competitive in markets where benefit richness and low premiums drive enrollment.

UnitedHealth Earnings Highlight Sector-Wide Margin Strain

Sentiment toward CLOV is being hit further by UnitedHealth Group's latest results. UnitedHealth reported a sharp year-over-year drop in adjusted EPS, a medical care ratio near 89% for 2025 with the fourth quarter at 92.4%, and 2026 sales guidance that came in below Street estimates, all signaling elevated utilization and thinner margins in MA.

Because UnitedHealth is the largest MA player, investors are potentially extrapolate its cost and revenue trends to smaller, less diversified carriers.

If a scaled operator is struggling to protect margins under current funding, a smaller, still-unprofitable insurer like Clover is perceived as having even less room to absorb higher hospital, pharmacy and outpatient costs.

Why CLOV Stock Is Falling Today

The combination of Trump-era CMS policy that effectively flattens MA funding and restricts risk-adjustment levers, together with UnitedHealth's weaker margin and revenue outlook, forces investors to re-run the math on Clover's path to profitability.

Markets are potentially now pricing in: lower risk scores and reimbursements for Clover's chronically ill members, greater pressure to reprice plans and a higher probability that medical cost trends outpace future rate increases.

In these scenarios, Clover may need to raise capital, slow growth or accept structurally lower margins.

Why Clover Health Faces An Uphill Battle

Clover Health is currently trading 7.2% below its 20-day simple moving average and 14.4% below its 100-day SMA, indicating a bearish trend in the short to medium term. Over the past 12 months, shares have decreased by 48.70% and are positioned closer to their 52-week lows than highs, reflecting ongoing challenges for the company.

The RSI is at 45.42, which is considered neutral territory, while the MACD is above its signal line, indicating a bullish signal. The combination of neutral RSI and bullish MACD suggests mixed momentum for the stock.

• Key Resistance: $3.00

Clover Health’s Business Model

Clover Health Investments Corp is a healthcare technology company. It focuses on empowering Medicare physicians to proactively manage chronic diseases through its proprietary software platform, Clover Assistant. This cloud-based solution provides personalized insights to physicians, enabling early detection and management of chronic conditions.

It operates in one segment: Insurance, through which it offers PPO and HMO plans to Medicare Advantage members in several states.

CLOV Reports Earnings Next Month

Investors are looking ahead to the next earnings report on Feb. 26.

• EPS Estimate: Loss of 7 cents (Down from Loss of 4 cents YoY)
• Revenue Estimate: $469.23 million (Up from $336.96 million YoY)

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Hold Rating with an average price target of $6.02. Recent analyst moves include:

• Canaccord Genuity: Buy (Maintains Target to $3.70) (Jan. 20)

Top ETF Exposure

• SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF (NYSE:XHS): 2.25% Weight

Significance: Because CLOV carries meaningful weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.

CLOV Shares Drop Tuesday

CLOV Price Action: Clover Health Investments shares were down 5.62% at $2.352 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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