Shares of Cigna Corp. CI bounced 1.1% in premarket trading Friday, after closing the previous session at a 3 1/2-month low, after the health insurer reported fourth-quarter profit that topped expectations, while revenue came up a bit shy. Net income rose to $1.17 billion, or $3.83 a share, from $1.12 billion, or $3.39 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $4.96 topped the FactSet consensus of $4.86. Revenue inched up 0.1% to $45.75 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $45.88 billion. Total customer relationships grew 2.2% to 189.7 million, including pharmacy customers down 1.6% to 105.6 million, medical customers up 5.4% to 18.0 million and Medicare Part D customers down 9.7% to 2.9 million. For 2023, the company expects adjusted EPS of “at least” $24.60, compared with the current FactSet consensus of $24.79. The stock had slumped 3.8% on Thursday to the lowest close since Oct. 21, after Medicare Advantage proposed lower rates for 2024. It has lost 7.0% over the past three months, while the Health Care Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund XLV has gained 2.4% and the S&P 500 SPX has advanced 12.4%.
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