According to a group of Citigroup analysts, Cigna is "one of the most compelling stocks and stories" they have seen across 20 years on the sell side. The group of analysts feels that the health services company has the right goals coupled with a strong historical performance, a solid strategy, improved positioning, and a balanced growth outlook – while having a low valuation. Analyst Ralph Giacobbe mentioned that Cigna is trading at a 27% discount to peers and 49% discount to the market. Citigroup gave Cigna shares a “buy” rating.The target indicates upside of 31% from Wednesday's close price. However, Giacobbe did mention that the outlook is not without a few risks, such as  a potential unexpected increase in healthcare-costs, heated competition from peers, the risks inherent in integrating Express Scripts, and general headline risks from the focus on drug pricing and the evolving pharmacy-benefit-manager model.  

CVS Health Corp. topped second quarter earnings expectations and raised its full-year profit guidance, leading to a climb in its stock price Wednesday. For the three months ending June, the retail pharmacy and pharmacy benefit manager reported adjusted earnings of $1.89 per share, marking a +11.8% increase from the year-ago quarter and a significant beat on the Street estimate of $1.69 per share. Total revenues for the quarter  climbed +35.2% year-over-year to $63.4 billion, also exceeding analysts' forecasts of $62.66 billion.Sales from Aetna (which CVS acquired in 2018) emerged as a significant contributor to the overall revenue growth. Revenues from Pharmacy Services rose +4.2% to $34.8 billion.

UnitedHealth Group's earnings for the three months ending in June came in higher than expected, and the company also boosted its full-year profit guidance.However, the company cautioned about a possible miss on 2019 revenue forecasts. The healthcare company reported adjusted earnings of $3.60 per share for the quarter, which is 15 cents ahead of the Street consensus forecast.  The earnings per share figure also reflects a +14.6% increase from the same period last year. Total revenues of the company rose +8% to $60.6 billion, largely in-line with analysts' estimates. Looking ahead, UnitedHealth expects its full-year net adjusted net earnings to be in the range of $14.70 to $14.90 per share, which is a small upgrade to the company's prior expectation. However, CFO John Rex told investors that 2019 revenues would be "at or just slightly below" the forecast range of $243 billion to $245 billion.

CVS will offer expanded health services such as nutrition counseling and blood pressure screenings in 1,500 stores by the end of 2021. The company plans to convert a total of 50 stores this year in Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Tampa, representing about 15% of the stores in each of the markets. The company also said it expects adjusted earnings of over $7 per share in 2020 while reiterating its profit and sales forecast for 2019.Analysts on average expect a profit of $7.22 per share for 2020.

CVS will open 1,500 HealthHUB stores by the end of 2021, the company announced Tuesday ahead of its investor day.

Health insurance provider UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) has been trending lower since early December.The stochastic readings made a bearish crossover on May 23. The Tickeron AI Trend Prediction Engine generated a bearish signal on UnitedHealth Group on May 22.

The stock has been trending lower since the beginning of December and has not been able to shake its downtrend the way the rest of the market has. Looking at the daily chart, connecting the highs from December and February we get the upper rail of a downward sloping trend channel.We saw a similar scenario in April before the stock dropped over 20%. The Tickeron AI Prediction tool generated a bearish signal toward Centene on May 8.

Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,  who has been asked to sign off on a government agreement that allowed CVS Health Corp. to buy Aetna, ordered a hearing for April 5.  He said that he wanted the hearing to discuss which witnesses, if any, should testify before he decides whether to approve the government’s deal with the companies.  The $69 billion transaction closed in November. The Justice Department approved the merger of CVS and Aetna in October on condition that Aetna sell its Medicare prescription drug plan business to WellCare Health Plans Inc. That deal has also closed.

The U.S. Justice Department formally asked a judge on Monday to approve its deal to allow CVS Health Corp to merge with insurer Aetna. Read more...

CVS Health beat fourth-quarter earnings forecasts, but its long-term care business took a $2.2-billion hit out of the company's performance, and its initial 2019 forecast was weaker than expected. CEO Larry Merlo said in a prepared statement that 2019 would be "a year of transition" as the company integrates the health insurer Aetna, which it purchased in a roughly $69 billion deal last year.A federal judge is still evaluating the acquisition. Earnings adjusted for one-time items totaled $2.14 per share, as revenue jumped more than 12 per cent to $54.24 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $2.09 per share and $54.61 billion in revenue.

UnitedHealth's Q4 earnings handily beat street expectations on its Q4 earning an adjusted $3.28 per share, eight cents better than analysts were expecting. The Indianapolis-based company's Optum segment helped with the results.United's insurance business was flat with operating earnings of $1.8 billion. Total revenue of $58.42 billion also topped the $57.94 billion expected on Wall Street. For the full year, UnitedHealth earned nearly $12 billion on $226 billion in revenue.

UnitedHealth shares jumped 1 percent in premarket trading Tuesday after it reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations, helped by growth in its services business. Here's UnitedHealth's results vs. what Wall Street expected: Earnings: $3.28 per share vs. $3.21 per share, forecast by Refinitiv. Revenue: $58.42 billion vs. $58.01 billion, forecast by Refinitiv. READ MORE...  

The Justice Department has said in a court filing that a partial government shutdown could delay its response to comments on pharmacy chain CVS Health Corp’s (CVS.N) purchase of health insurer Aetna, a necessary step in a court giving final approval to the deal.READ MORE...

CVS Health Corp. and Aetna have received the final state approval for their $69 billion merger. In December 2017, pharmacy retail/healthcare company CVS  announced plans to  acquire Aetna for $69 billion in cash and stock.The Department of Justice had given a preliminary approval in October 2018, after Aetna agreed to sell its Medicare Part D drug plan business to WellCare Health Plans so that there is no overlap with CVS’s Medicare plan business – thereby mitigating regulatory concerns of a potential concentration/monopolization of the health insurance sector due to the merger. Now that it has approvals from all the 28 state departments of insurance, the deal is expect to close  “on or about” Nov. 28 - the companies mentioned in Monday’s regulatory filings.

The pharma retail/healthcare company had previously anticipated the deal to close before the holiday. According to its Tuesday’s regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CVS has already received approvals of 26 out of the 28 state departments of insurance, and is in "the final stages" of approval processes with the remaining two states for the acquisition. The Department of Justice had given the preliminary nod in October to the CVS-Aetna deal, after CVS reached an agreement to sell off its Medicare Part D plan business to WellCare Health Plans.The divestiture was apparently a crucial step for CVS in preventing a ‘merger’ of its own Medicare segment with Aetna’s Medicare Part D plans, and therefore to ease regulatory concerns about a potential increase in monopolistic power in the Medicare sector due to CVS's acquisition of Aetna.

Metastatic tumors — cancerous cells which break away from their tissue of origin, travel through the body through the circulatory or lymph systems, and form new tumors in other parts of the body — are notoriously difficult to detect.A 2009 study of 102 breast cancer patients at two Boston health centers found that one in four were affected by the “process of care” failures such as inadequate physical examinations and incomplete diagnostic tests. READ MORE...

drugstore chain CVS Health's plans to acquire prescription insurer Aetna got the preliminary approval from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).CVS  wants to make the acquisition through $69 billion in cash and stock, as revealed by the company in December.

To fund its takeover of Express Scripts Holding Co., Cigna is expected to sell more than $22 billion of bonds. The health insurance company agreed to acquire Express Scripts in March for $54 billion, and the deal is reportedly close to regulatory approval.Cigna has started selling senior unsecured bonds in as many as 10 parts, according to a person with knowledge of the matter (as reported by Bloomberg).