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Fly News Breaks for January 19, 2017
AET, HUM, WCG, ANTM, CI
Jan 19, 2017 | 12:58 EDT
Jefferies analyst David Windley said a report indicating that a judge is getting set to block the merger of Anthem (ANTM) with Cigna (CI) shouldn't come as a surprise given that "dysfunction" between their management teams has been well documented. Assuming the deal is not approved, Cigna will have a strong balance sheet to repurchase stock or pursue M&A and WellCare (WCG) would be a logical takeover target, Windley contends. He also thinks Cigna could look to buy Humana (HUM) if its deal with Aetna (AET) also breaks, but acknowledges that deal would face "a much tougher road." Windley keeps his Buy rating on Cigna and Hold rating on Anthem.