Cigna Corp. (CI.US) shares fell nearly 0.50% ahead of the opening bell despite the healthcare and insurance company posted better than expected financial results for the fourth quarter as medical costs declined sharply due to the dwindling number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
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Earnings of $4.96 per share, topped Zacks projections of $4.84 per share. Last year the company earned $4.77 per share. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
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Revenue rose 0.1% to $45.75 billion and slightly topped Zacks estimates of $45.58 billion.
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Total customer relationships increased 2.2% to 189.7 million. Number of pharmacy customers fell 1.6% to 105.6 million, medical customers rose 5.4% to 18.0 million and Medicare Part D customers slumped 9.7% to 2.9 million.
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Quarterly medical care ratio, or company's spending on claims as a percentage of premiums, decreased to 84.0% from 87.0%, and came in below analysts' expectations of 84.28%, according to Refinitiv data.
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For the current fiscal year Cigna expects EPS of $24.60, slightly below market consensus of $24.84.
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Company expects a medical care ratio in the region between 81.5% to 82.5% in 2023, compared to analysts' projections of 81.9%.
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Number of clients is expected to increase at least 1.2 million this year.
Cigna Corp. (CI.US) stock lows market with lower limit of the 1:1 structure after publication of Q4 financial results. Nevertheless buyers struggle to break above 23.6% Fibonacci retracement of the upward wave started in March 2020. As long as price sits below, bears seem to have the upper hand. Break below the long term upward trendline could lead to acceleration of the downward move. Source: xStation5
