Aetna shares touch a fresh all-time high on Thursday, quarterly earnings beat expectations, full-year forecast revised up

Aetna Inc’s second-quarter earnings, reported on August 3rd, outstripped market expectations, as a slump in revenue has been overshadowed by cost efficiency, with the company withdrawing from Affordable Care Act market exchanges.

Aetna shares closed higher for a third consecutive trading session on Thursday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since February 14th. The stock went up 2.46% ($3.80) to $158.54, after touching an intraday high at $160.74 and also a fresh all-time high. In the week ended on July 30th the shares of the health care benefits company lost 0.65% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the first drop in the past four weeks and also the largest one since the week ended on May 21st. The stock has extended its advance to 2.74% so far during the current month, following a 1.63% increase in July. The latter has been a fourth consecutive month of gains. For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed company rose 14.70%.

Aetnas total revenue was reported to have shrunk 2.5% to $15.5 billion during the second quarter of 2017, due to lower premiums resulting from ongoing withdrawal from Affordable Care Act exchanges.

The companys net earnings were reported at $1.2 billion ($3.60 per share) during the second quarter of the year, up from $790.8 million ($2.23 per share) during the same period a year ago.

At the same time, Aetnas adjusted earnings per share were reported at $3.42 during the period, up from $2.21 per share a year earlier. In comparison, analysts, on average, had expected adjusted earnings of $2.35 per share.

Meanwhile, Aetnas full-year 2017 earnings forecast has been revised up to a range of $9.45-$9.55 per share from $8.80 per share previously.

According to CNN Money, the 20 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Aetna Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $161.00, with a high estimate of $181.00 and a low estimate of $94.00. The median estimate is a 1.55% surge compared to the closing price of $158.54 on August 3rd.

The same media also reported that 14 out of 24 surveyed investment analysts had rated Aetna Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 9 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Aetna stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $158.95
R2 – $159.37
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $159.78
R4 (Long Breakout) – $161.03
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $162.48
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $163.13

S1 – $158.13
S2 – $157.71
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $157.30
S4 (Short Breakout) – $156.05
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $154.60
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $153.95

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Aetna Inc (AET) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $155.30
R1 – $157.55
R2 – $159.81
R3 – $162.06
R4 – $164.31

S1 – $153.04
S2 – $150.79
S3 – $148.53
S4 – $146.27