Cigna (CI) Offering Possible 16.14% Return Over the Next 23 Calendar Days

Cigna's most recent trend suggests a bearish bias. One trading opportunity on Cigna is a Bear Call Spread using a strike $170.00 short call and a strike $180.00 long call offers a potential 16.14% return on risk over the next 23 calendar days. Maximum profit would be generated if the Bear Call Spread were to expire worthless, which would occur if the stock were below $170.00 by expiration. The full premium credit of $1.39 would be kept by the premium seller. The risk of $8.61 would be incurred if the stock rose above the $180.00 long call strike price.

The 5-day moving average is moving down which suggests that the short-term momentum for Cigna is bearish and the probability of a decline in share price is higher if the stock starts trending.

The 20-day moving average is moving down which suggests that the medium-term momentum for Cigna is bearish.

The RSI indicator is at 55.81 level which suggests that the stock is neither overbought nor oversold at this time.

To learn how to execute such a strategy while accounting for risk and reward in the context of smart portfolio management, and see how to trade live with a successful professional trader, view more here

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LATEST NEWS for Cigna

New CEO Heyward Donigan Needs a Miracle to Revive Rite Aid Stock
Mon, 23 Sep 2019 12:40:39 +0000
Drugstore chain Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) is fighting for its life, if the recent and not-so-recent performance of Rite Aid stock is any indication.Source: Susan Montgomery / Shutterstock.com That's a tough truth for shareholders to hear, but that doesn't make it not true. Remember, this is the same company that in 2015 was willing to sell itself, in its entirety, to rival Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA). It was a lifeline more so than a strategic decision, in retrospect.The pharmacy chain business is also just a tough one to thrive in anymore, as evidenced by the recent decision from Fred's to begin Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The smaller player isn't even going to bother trying to team-up with a bigger and better-established player like Walgreens or CVS Health (NYSE:CVS). It's simply looking to liquidate its assets.InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsThere's one last ace in the hole Rite Aid could play, however, to light a fresh fire under a deteriorating RAD stock price. That's new CEO Heyward Donigan. Just know that the turnaround effort she'll have to lead is a monumental task, and the odds aren't in her favor. A New CEO and Rite Aid StockThere's little doubt 58-year-old Heyward Donigan's got the chops.Prior to taking the helm for Rite Aid, she was chief executive of Sapphire Digital … a company that leveraged an effective use of data to lower the total cost of buying and offering health care; you may know the company better by its old moniker, Vitals. * 7 Triple-'F' Rated Stocks to Leave on the Shelf Before that, Donigan led a similar outfit called Value Options, and before that, she was a Senior Vice President of Operations for health insurer Cigna (NYSE:CI). Donigan is also a board member for Kindred Healthcare and Eastern Virginia Medical School.In short, she knows the healthcare business.Knowing the ins and outs of an industry and being able to keep a third pharmacy chain afloat in an environment that may only need two, however, aren't the same thing. Donigan may well have inherited a project that's simply too far gone to be salvaged. Scaling Is a Real Problem for Rite Aid StockAsk ten different people what's ultimately ailing Rite Aid, and you'll likely get at least seven different answers. All of those answers, however, would point in the same general direction: Rite Aid lacks the scale and reach necessary to hold up in an environment where every aspect of the nation's healthcare apparatus is under fire.The simplest of numbers tell the tale. Over the course of its past four quarters, Walgreens has done $136 billion worth of business. CVS Health has done a whopping $226 billion in sales. Rite Aid, meanwhile, has struggled to produce a twelve-month top line of $21.6 billion.That exceedingly small size makes it tough to cover its fixed costs its bigger rivals can more readily absorb. Specifically, Rite Aid pays out a disproportionately higher amount of its revenue to cover selling, general and administrative costs, and its $3.5 billion worth of long-term debt is forcing the organization to pay roughly twice as much, relatively speaking, as Walgreens to service its debt load. The end result is alarmingly thin profit margins. Click to EnlargeA lack of scale also establishes another (albeit related) hurdle. That is, Rite Aid doesn't have the same sort of buying power its rivals enjoy.Undoubtedly Rite Aid has secured some price breaks due to its capacity to sell in volume, from behind its pharmacy counters as well as from its stores' general shopping areas. But, at roughly one-tenth the size of both CVS Health and Walgreens, its suppliers simply can't prioritize discounting the way they can for the company's bigger rivals.Finally, its small size prevents Rite Aid from entering agreements that would help buoy its business, such as the union of CVS and health insurer Aetna. Would-be partners want scale as well, particularly if a relationship is going to be an exclusive one. Looking Ahead for Rite Aid StockErgo, Donigan's primary task ahead is also the toughest thing Rite Aid could be asked to do at this time … grow the company.Never say never. Anything's possible. Perhaps she has a plan to do what John Standley couldn't between 2010 and August of this year.Somehow though, that endzone seems out of reach. Indeed, the company is seemingly moving in the wrong direction, handing over 1932 of its stores to Walgreens, sacrificing scale in an effort to pay down debt, and giving a competitor even more scale in the process.Throw in the fact that a digitally dominant Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) now manages online pharmacy Pillpack and at the same time is looking for ways to completely circumvent the traditional means of delivering healthcare, and a recovery seems pretty close to impossible.Donigan will need to pull off a miracle if RAD stock is ever going to be worth owning again. Don't hold your breath.As of this writing, James Brumley had no position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can learn more about James at his site, jamesbrumley.com, or follow him on Twitter, at @jbrumley. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Triple-'F' Rated Stocks to Leave on the Shelf * 10 Excellent Stocks to Watch for 2020 and Beyond * 7 Consumer Stocks to Buy in an Uncertain Market The post New CEO Heyward Donigan Needs a Miracle to Revive Rite Aid Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.

US Markets Green on Thursday
Thu, 19 Sep 2019 20:58:26 +0000
Darden Restaurants falls on financial results Continue reading…

Cigna Expands Health Care Exchange Offerings to New Markets
Thu, 19 Sep 2019 12:18:12 +0000
Cigna (CI) expands the health care exchange plan to new regions beginning 2020 to enrich customer experience.

3 Blue-Chip Stocks for a Market Slowdown
Wed, 18 Sep 2019 17:42:17 +0000
The global economy is starting to look a little shaky. Between the US-China trade tensions and now the Iranian-sponsored attacks on Saudi Arabian oil output, the pressures on the world system of trade and commerce are increasing. As CLSA’s Eric Fishwick said, “Trade both ways has slowed… the trade wars are definitely having an impact.” And in an effort to calm markets after the drone attack on his company’s largest facility, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said, “We have enough oil products to supply the local market.”After posting losses on Monday, both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones were up slightly on Tuesday. The S&P gained 0.26%, while the Dow added 0.13%. A look at the charts, however, shows that the sharp gains the markets have posted since August 23 have slowed and levelled off. Investors are watching the news and getting nervous.A wise investor will move to protect his portfolio, and we’ve found three Strong Buy stocks in the TipRanks database to do just that. These are large-cap health insurers, offering a product that remains in high demand no matter what the economic conditions, and generating high returns through share appreciation over the long-run. They are not cheap stocks, but they are classic defensive plays for an uncertain market environment. Anthem, Inc.With 40 million members, Anthem (ANTM – Get Report) is the largest managed care company in the Blue Cross Blue Shield network. It is the largest health insurer in California, the country’s largest state-wide market. ANTM shares are up 123% over the past five years, and the company’s dividend, while yielding a modest 1.24%, pays out an appreciable $3.20 per share annually.Anthem’s earnings reflect the company’s strong position in the health care market. In the second quarter, Anthem reported a net profit of $1.14 billion on quarterly revenues of $25.47 billion. EPS, at $4.64, was in line with the expected $4.62. Both profits and EPS were up year-over-year; net profits by 8.5% and EPS by 9%.Robust earnings and a solid position in its industry prompted Deutsche Bank analyst George Hill to start coverage of this stock with a Buy rating. He set a $323 price target, and noted, “The company's execution has been strong recently, even though we see some implementation risk [from] relatively lower exposure to the faster-growing segments of the market.” Hill’s price target suggests an upside potential of 25%.ANTM stock has a unanimous Buy consensus from the Street; 7 analysts have given this company a Buy in the past three months. Shares sell for $257, and the average price target of $345 implies a potential upside of 34%. Cigna Holding CompanyWith 5-year growth of 75%, and a Q2 earnings positive surprise of 13%, Cigna (CI – Get Report) is another solid performer in the health insurance industry. The company offers medical and dental, as well as accident, disability, and life insurance products around the world.Oppenheimer analyst Michael Wiederhorn, who has a 65% success rate with his stock recommendations, sees CI as a compelling buy. His price target of $254 suggests an impressive upside of 57%. In his comments, Wiederhorn states, “The [business] environment has certainly changed, with regulatory pressure affecting all ends of the pharmaceutical supply chain, but he believes the depressed multiples are well overdone.”Analyst George Hill, quoted above, also likes CI, enough to initiate coverage with a Buy rating. He writes, “The company's PBM segment does not contain the significant short-term earnings risk implied by the steep discount of the stock price. We believe its core commercial MCO and the perceived cross sales benefit could drive its multiple expansion.” Hill’s $207 price target implies an upside of 28%.Like Anthem, Cigna has a unanimous consensus rating of Strong Buy – in the last three months, the stock has been given 8 buy ratings. Cigna shares sell for $161, making it significantly less expensive than Anthem or UnitedHealth (see below), and its average price target of $214 gives the stock a 32% upside potential. UnitedHealth Group, Inc.UnitedHealth (UNH – Get Report) benefits from scale – it is the world’s largest health insurer and boasts over 115 million customers. Its 2018 revenue totaled over $225 billion, with over $17 billion realized in profits. More recently, UNH posted a 3.9% positive earnings surprise on Q2 EPS of $3.60. While the company’s growth has slowed in the past year, sheer scale ensures that it will remain profitable. The strong dividend, paying out $4.32 per share annually, makes this stable stock a favorite for return-minded investors.Continued profitability lies behind 4-star analyst A. J. Rice’s optimism on the stock. The Credit Suisse analyst gives UNH a buy rating with a $293 price target. Rice says of UNH, “The company gave the impression that the moderation in enrollment growth it’s seeing this year was largely expected… However, it also stressed that its goal of 13-16% EPS growth is a long-term target implying that 2020 is an unlikely timeframe to see such substantial improvements."Our current 2020 estimates anticipate 10% Y/Y growth. If UNH posts modest upside relative to our Q3 and Q4 2019 estimates, our 2020 $16.30 EPS est could then represent roughly 8-10% growth. This type of growth seems a reasonable initial target.” Rice’s price target suggests a potential upside of 26% for UNH shares. He has a 63% success rate with his recommendations on this stock.Overall, UNH holds a Strong Buy from the analyst consensus, with 10 buys and 2 holds given in the past three months. Shares in UNH sell for $232, making it the most expensive of the stocks in this list. The $298 price target suggests an upside of 28%.Visit TipRanks’ Trending Stocks page and find out what else the Street’s top analysts are looking at.

Cigna Recognized by Dow Jones for Industry-Leading Sustainability Practices
Wed, 18 Sep 2019 17:00:00 +0000
For the third consecutive year, Cigna has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices , with recognition from the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index .

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