Cigna stock rises toward a 6-month high after adjusted profit, revenue rise above forecasts

Shares of Cigna Group rose 0.9% toward a six-month high in premarket trading Thursday, after the health insurer reported second-quarter results that beat expectations, amid growth in pharmacy and medical customers. Net income came in at $1.46 billion, or $4.92 a share, after $1.56 billion, or $4.89 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share fell to $6.13 from $6.20 but beat the FactSet consensus of $6.03. Total revenue grew 6.8% to $48.59 billion, topping the FactSet consensus of $47.24 billion. Total pharmacy customers rose 4.1% to 98.64 million and total medical customers increased 9.5% to 19.51 million. For 2023, the company CI, +1.27% expects adjusted EPS of “at least” $24.70, compared with the FactSet consensus of $24.80. Cigna’s stock has run up 21.7% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 -1.38% has gained 10.3%.

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