Market Update: Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI) – Cigna Implements Value-Based Contract with Novartis for Heart Drug EntrestoTM

[Business Wire] – Cigna has entered into an outcomes-based contract with the pharmaceutical company Novartis for the drug Entresto, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Read more on this. Cigna Corp. (CI) , with a current market cap of $32.73B, opened this morning at $132.12. Today’s price range has been between $126.29 and $132.31 per share with the price of the stock fluctuating between $110.76 to $170.68 over the last 52 weeks. CI shares are currently priced at 14.41x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry ’s 13.13x forward p/e ratio. The company pays shareholders $0.04 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 0.03%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 17 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $2.16 per share, which would be $0.20 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.12 sequential decrease. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $9.23 is a $0.57 improvement when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $10.02 Billion. If realized, that would be a 6.71% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Jefferies upgraded CI from Hold to Buy (Jan 8, 2016). Previously, Citigroup Initiated CI at to Buy. When considering if the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $171.29, which is 29.65% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:CI) Similar Articles: Market Update: Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI) – Health insurer Cigna reports better-than-expected profit Market Update: Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI) – Cigna Named Corporation of the Year by World Affairs Council -Washington DC Market Update: Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI) – Cigna Foundation to Give World of Difference Grant to Shatterproof