Cigna Group Stock Drops To Near 4-Week Low After Big Profit Miss, Retail Turns Bearish

synopsis

Shares of The Cigna Group fell more than 10% on Thursday morning, hitting intraday lows not seen since early January, following a quarterly profit miss.

Fourth-quarter (Q4) adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.64 (down from $6.79 a year earlier) missed a Wall Street estimate of $7.82, even as revenue of $65.65 billion surpassed the consensus of $63.18 billion.

Cigna’s earnings were impacted by higher medical costs in its stop-loss product. 

CEO David Cordani said the company was taking “corrective actions and advancing our long-term growth strategy.”

Cigna revised its full-year 2025 adjusted EPS to $29.50, below the $31.48 estimate, and projected adjusted revenue of at least $252 billion. 

The company also raised its medical loss ratio forecast to 83.2%-84.2% versus the consensus estimate of 81.9%.

Cigna’s board raised its quarterly dividend by 7.9% to $1.51 per share and authorized a $6-billion share repurchase program. The increased dividend reflects an annual yield of about 1.99% based on the previous day’s close.

CI sentiment and message volume Jan 30 as of 10:30 am ET | source: Stocktwits

Retail traders on Stocktwits reacted quickly, flipping sentiment from ‘bullish’ to ‘bearish’ by Thursday morning, with a surge in message volume.

One user said that Cigna’s results foreboded a similar result for Humana, expected on Feb. 11.

Another breathed a sigh of relief that they had exited the stock before the drop.

According to Barron’s, the disappointing results highlight the broader challenge of predicting the rising medical costs that have dented the managed-care sector. 

UnitedHealth Group, the largest U.S. health insurer, also posted disappointing results earlier this month.

Cigna’s stock has dropped more than 8% in the past year and currently trades around 41% below the average analyst price target, according to Koyfin.

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