(Reuters) - UnitedHealth has reached out to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about billionaire investor Bill Ackman's now-deleted post on social media platform X that said he would take a short position in the healthcare conglomerate.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

"If I still shorted stocks, I would short United Healthcare," Ackman said in his post, referring to the company's health insurance unit.

The investor also said the company's profits are likely overstated due to its coverage decisions.

MARKET REACTION

UnitedHealth's shares fell about 1.5% in afternoon trade after Ackman's post.

KEY QUOTE

"Any claims that health insurers, which typically have low- to mid-single digit margins, can somehow over-earn are grossly uninformed about the structure and strong regulatory oversight of the sector," a UnitedHealth spokesperson said.

The SEC declined to comment.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru)