Normally slow-moving Cigna Corporation (CI), first discussed here on May 28, 2009 at a price of $21.89, has been on the move, rising $7 from about $35 to $42, and I obviously still like the shares at this juncture.

Cigna's should post a 1-3% revenue gain in 2011, after a 17% increase in 2010. CI's health care unit should lead the way, with the unit's revenue advancing on both increased subscribers and higher premiums. What's more, the retention rates for new products for individual, small-group, and middle market customers have been impressive. Products for national accounts, however, less-impressive.

The positive story continues with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX), which I first wrote about on June 9, 2009, at a 2-for-1, split-adjusted price of $31.82.

In fact, the uptrend has been so impressive, Express traded near $56 on Friday, those in since June 2009 may wish to consider taking some profits off the table, to say the least. It never hurts a portfolio to take a portion of a roughly 80% gain.

"We're refilling our prescription with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (RDY), the India-based generic drug maker," says Paul Goodwin.

The editor of Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report explains, "Time was, being a generic drug manufacturer in India was a pretty simple business. All you had to do was analyze a new pharmaceutical compound and figure out how to manufacture it.

"A little thing like patent protection was just a minor inconvenience. And that's how Dr. Reddy's Laboratories got started. Founder Dr. Anji Reddy used his PhD in Chemical Engineering and his experience in a state-owned pharmaceutical company to do the reverse engineering and figure out the manufacturing process.

No matter what happens in the elections today one outcome is for sure, politicians new and old will make our laws more convoluted at every opportunity. One stock I think is situated to deal with this inevitable outcome is Ebix Inc. (EBIX).

I last recommended the stock in August in the story Four Great Stocks -- Gov't Fears Savings Spiraling Out of Control. At the time the stock was trading at $19.39. This was a good call, as the stock closed today at $24.24, for a 25% gain in in 11 weeks, or 118% annualized.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) reported a blowout second quarter this morning prior to the opening bell. Net income attributable to the company increased to $2.475 billion compared to $2.261 billion in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, quarterly earnings were $4.959 billion, or $0.62 per share, versus $3.249 billion or $0.48 per share, in last year's corresponding quarter. This compared to Wall Street analysts' consensus EPS estimates of $0.52.

Revenues were up 58% to $17.327 billion which came in way ahead of analysts' estimates of $16.65 billion. The company also reaffirmed its 2010 EPS guidance of $2.10 to $2.20 and said it expects earnings to come in at the higher end of that range. Using these metrics, PFE looks ridiculously cheap (and has been for sometime). The stock has been a favorite of value investors such as David Einhorn because of its blue-chip brand, inexpensive valuation, fat dividend yield, and defensive business profile.

Insurer CIGNA Corporation (CI) posted solid first quarter earnings of $1.01 per share, excluding items, compared to the Thomson/Reuters First Call estimate of 90 cents. So far, investors are more than satisfied. Cigna's shares rose about 75 cents after the earnings release, and recently have recovered nearly all of the ground lost during the May 6 "flash crash." On Tuesday afternoon shares rose 87 cents to $33.52. Cigna earned 76 cents per share a year ago.

Cigna, which benefited from a strong international performance, also kept its 2010 earnings guidance the same, with the company seeing full-year EPS of $3.75 to $4.15, compared to the First Call estimate of $4.08. First Call also expects CI to earn $4.36 in 2011.

President Obama made it to the oval office with a sincere promise to reform health care in the United States and make it available to those without. Great idea, bad timing. It might also contribute to the bankruptcy of our nation and no amount of hoping, praying and playing with numbers and research reports will alter our path if we spend money we do not have for very much longer.

Contentious Bill

This is a noble task and Obama has energized a national discussion that has led to Senate and House Democrats navigating treacherous straits to piece together recently signed legislation.

The bulls were firmly in control today. A solid Consumer Sentiment revision helped and managed to dwarf any concerns about GDP revisions. But a mid-day news report about a South Korean ship being sunk near North Korea took the wind out of the sails. Fortunately, that appears to be an accident or internal incident rather than anything sinister from the North Koreans. This was another day where the red/black line was not going to be known until the final minutes.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

DJIA
S&P500
NASDAQ

Becton Dickinson (BDX), first discussed here on March 17, 2009 at a price of $65.66, remains well-positioned for the new U.S. health care era.

Look for Becton's 2010 revenue to surge 8-11% a a result of strong gains in its medical segment; diagnostics revenue should also rise substantially as demand for safety products and infectious disease/flu-related products sees steadily increasing global demand. Meanwhile, the bioservices unit revenue will likely trail the above, but still record 3-5% growth in 2010.

It has been a long time since I have suggested investors dabble in tech stocks, unless, like me, you consider Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) a tech stock. Today, that changes as I direct your attention to the rapidly growing small cap stock Ebix (EBIX), a software company that specializes in the needs of the insurance industry.

This Atlanta, GA-based company is up 113.30% in the last year, 450.72% over three years, and an incredible 1,092.74% in five years through March 2010.

Are we 10 of 11 days or 9 of 10 days up in a rally? It depends upon which index you look at. But the DJIA hit what appears to be 18 month highs today despite the healthcare reform and despite a lower existing home sales number.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,797.00 +55.02 (0.51%)
S&P 500 1,174.17 +8.36 (0.72%)
Nasdaq 2,415.24 +19.84 (0.83%)

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Insurance giant Aetna Inc. (AET) will be reporting its fourth quarter numbers tomorrow before the market opens.

Analysts are expecting to see the company show earnings of 42 cents per share. During the same period last year the company had earnings of 96 cents per share.

Eating less is being rewarded in a strange new way. Thinner employees at Whole Foods (WFMI) will enjoy deeper discounts on food, leading to an even wider disparity relative to the ... ummmm ... "bigger-boned" employees. A new employee rewards program called "Health Starts Here" offers employees discounts based on body mass index. Hit the gym, go for a jog or simply enjoy the perks of a naturally buzzing metabolism, and you can save a fortune. Carry around a little extra heft, and you'll pay more to maintain it.

At present, every Whole Foods employee receives a 20% discount on purchases in the store. By sweating to the oldies, however, they can take that discount to 30%. But dieting like a model won't work: nicotine use is a disqualifier. So, if you're trying to smoke your way to svelte, find another way.

For CEOs, 2009 was a return to stability, according to the latest study from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. CEO turnover fell to its lowest level in five years, a sharp turn from the record highs experienced the year before.

"The 17 percent drop in CEO turnover this year may be due partly to efforts by some companies to try to keep top management stable until the status of the economy became clearer. The economy may have turned a corner around mid-year, but it is still in a fragile state, which helped maintain this stability through the second half of 2009," said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

It's now or never, as far as realizing an outsized gain with medical device supplier Covidien Plc (COV), which is why I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company's share's, first recommended on June 4, 2009 at a price of $35.65. If you bought COV in June, you're up about 35%.

Further, the investment calculation with Covidien isn't rocket science: an aging U.S. population and the likelihood that U.S. public policy will universalize health care means that roughly 3-5 million more citizens per year for the next 8-10 years will receive regular health care services. And that means one thing: it's a good time to be a medical supplier (or a nurse, or radiologist, or surgeon, etc.).