Analysts Just Upgraded These 5 Stocks

2. Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63

Shares of Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) turned green on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, after receiving an upgrade from Morgan Stanley. The research firm raised its ratings for the healthcare and insurance company from “Equal Weight” to “Overweight.”

In a research note to investors, Morgan Stanley analyst Ricky Goldwasser said Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) would greatly benefit from the biosimilars of Humira in the healthcare services market. Goldwasser also raised his price target for Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) from $283 per share to $296 per share.

Separately, investment management firm Davis Funds mentioned Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) in its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter published earlier this year. The fund said:

“Healthcare is included in the portfolio both for company-specific reasons, as well as big picture trends. At the company level, we hold select companies in pharmaceuticals, healthcare services and health insurance at attractive valuations. This is at a time when the average age of the U.S. population is fast approaching 40, older than Asia-Pacific and a little younger than the aged populations of Europe and Japan. The number of seniors in the U.S.—i.e., 65 years or older— now surpasses 54 million, or about 15% of the population. Seniors, on average, take a much greater number of medications and account for a large and disproportionate share of healthcare spending, and we expect that trend to continue due to both raw demographics and a proliferation in the number of available treatments and services available now, the latter being driven by innovation and investment in the healthcare industry. Representative holdings in the Fund include Cigna, United Health Group, Viatris and Quest Diagnostics.”