Cantor sees Cigna having “easier path” to reaching guidance than peers

Cantor Fitzgerald said it sees Cigna (NYSE:CI) reaching its reiterated 2024 guidance of EPS of at least $28 as “an easier path with less uncertainty” than the 2024 guidance updates issued by rival CVS Health (CVS) and Humana (HUM).

The investment bank also said that management, in discussions with Cantor analysts, “highlighted the level of outpatient elevation seen in Q3 2023 was in line with internal estimates in Q2 2023,” which was in line with United Health (UNH) and Elevance (ELV), but contrasted with CVS Health and Humana. It noted that Humana and CVS both raised their MA MLR guidance this quarter.

Cantor added that it doesn’t see Cigna following CVS into the biosimilars business, adding that Cigna management seemed to view CVS’s new Cordavis unit as a “positive for the industry.” Cantor added that “growth of the biosimilar market continues to be a large tailwind for Cigna and other PBMs.”