Cigna's Stock Shoots Up To Record High After WSJ Report Of Anthem's Takeover Approach

Cigna Corp.'s stock shot up to a record high in midday trade Monday, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Anthem Inc. make a takeover approach to the health insurer. The stock was up 14% on volume that was already more than double the full-day average, but had been up as much as 19% at an all-time intraday high of $164 earlier in the session. Anthem has made two takeover bids for Cigna in the last 10 days, the last one at about $175 a share, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Cigna has rebuffed Anthem's bids. The $175 bid was 27% above Friday's closing price of $137.31, and would value Cigna at about $45.04 billion, according to FactSet. Anthem's current market capitalization is about $43.44 billion. Anthem's stock was up 2.2% on Monday. It has gained 31% year to date, while Cigna's has not surged 53% and the S&P 500 has gained 1.2%.