Cigna Stock in Focus as Investor Day Spotlights Specialty Drugs -- Barrons.com
Dow Jones2026/09/29 15:47By Catherine Dunn
When Cigna Group holds its first investor day under new CEO Brian Evanko on Wednesday, Wall Street will be looking beyond its insurance business for updates on a key growth area: specialty drugs for patients with cancer and other complex conditions.
It's an area that produced strong results for Cigna in the second quarter, when pretax adjusted earnings in its specialty and care services businesses grew 22% from a year earlier.
On the company's July earnings call, Evanko said he sees a nearly $500 billion addressable market in specialty pharmacy, with high-single-digit growth potential.
Evanko called it "one of the few subsegments of the U.S. healthcare system with such strong secular growth."
Through Cigna's Accredo Specialty Pharmacy, patients can access medications for conditions such as cystic fibrosis, hepatitis C, and epilepsy. Cigna has also invested in services for providers, including hospitals and health systems, that administer specialty drugs to patients.
Analysts anticipate more details on Wednesday.
"We expect direct-to-patient to remain the core of the specialty story, supported by the company's established Accredo platform," wrote Guggenheim Securities analyst Jason Cassorla in a client note.
Reaching the provider side of the specialty market "could contribute meaningfully to CI's long-term growth given its historical under-penetration in that space," Cassorla wrote.
Cigna shares are down 1.25% this year through Monday, when they closed at $271.83. The stock has an average Buy rating among analysts tracked by FactSet, with an average price target of $341.61.
The company's insurance business caters to the commercial market and no longer provides Medicare Advantage coverage to seniors. As a result, Cigna stock hasn't shared in gains this year, with Medicare rebound momentum propelling gains at peers UnitedHealth Group, up 14.45%, and Aetna parent CVS Health, up 10.7%.
Write to Catherine Dunn at catherine.dunn@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 29, 2026 11:47 ET (15:47 GMT)
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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