Insurer Anthem raises 2015 forecast again after 2Q net income rises more than 17 percent

Health insurer Anthem is raising its 2015 forecast again after earnings jumped more than 17 percent in its most recent quarter.

The Blue Cross-Blue Shield carrier now expects 2015 adjusted earnings to top $10 per share, up from a previous forecast for earnings of greater than $9.90 per share.

Analysts forecast, on average, earnings of $10.04 per share, according to FactSet.

Anthem's second-quarter net income jumped from $731.1 million to $859.1 million in the second quarter, helped by enrollment gains in state and federally funded Medicaid coverage.

The Indianapolis company's earnings report comes a few days after it laid out a $48 billion plan to purchase fellow insurer Cigna Corp., the latest multi-billion dollar deal to drop in an industry where the main players are scrambling to get bigger.