Shares of Anthem Inc. rose 0.6% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the health benefits company reported third-quarter profit and revenue that rose above expectations, amid higher premium revenue due to growth in Medicaid and Medicare, and raised its full-year outlook. Net income rose nearly seven-fold to $1.51 billion, or $6.13 a share, from $222 million, or 87 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $6.79, above the FactSet consensus of $6.37. Revenue grew 15.0% to $35.82 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $35.35 billion, while expenses increased 9.9% to $33.83 billion. Medical enrollment grew 5.7% to 45.1 million members. The company raised is 2021 adjusted EPS guidance to “greater than $25.85” from “greater than $25.50,” compared with the FactSet consensus is $25.66. The stock has rallied 22.6% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has advanced 13.5% and the S&P 500 has climbed 20.3%.
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