** Shares of some U.S. health insurers gain in premarket trade after Elevance ELV.N beat Q4 profit estimates
** ELV up 5% at $410.20, UnitedHealth Group UNH.N up 1.4% at $527, CVS Health Corp CVS.N up 2.6% at $53.70, Centene CNC.N up 1.5% at $64.50, Cigna CI.N up 2.4% at $296 and Humana HUM.N up 2.2% at $291.25
** ELV profit beat was partly helped by lower-than-expected spending on medical care for its members
** ELV reports Q4 adj. profit of $3.84 per share vs. estimates of $3.80 per share, as per LSEG data
** Expects, however, medical loss ratio — the percentage of premiums spent on medical care - to be 89.1%, above or below 50 basis points for 2025, compared with analysts' avg. expectations of 88.73%
** Health insurers have been battling with higher medical costs over the past few quarters
** ELV fell ~23%, UNH down 6.2%, CVS slipped 44.4%, CNC fell 21.2%, CI down 10.9%, HUM fell ~46% in 2024
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury and Sneha S K in Bengaluru)
((Kamal.Choudhury@thomsonreuters.com;))
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.