UPDATE: Moness Crespi Hardt Upgrades Cigna Corporation to Buy on Business Sale

Moness Crespi Hardt upgraded Cigna Corporation

from Neutral to Buy and announced a $70.00 price target. Moness Crespi Hardt noted, "Yesterday after the close, CI announced the effective sale of its run-off Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit and Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefits businesses effective yesterday. … We believe the structure of the transaction effective insulates CI from tail-risk associated with adverse economic outcomes and believe that investors will now be willing to pay a more peer health plan-like multiple for its future earnings stream. We note that the transaction effectively more than doubles the established reserves for these liabilities and thus eliminates tail risk capital raising, which by definition would occur under severe market conditions." Cigna Corporation closed at $58.35 on Monday.