Aetna beats Street 2Q forecasts

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ' Aetna Inc. (AET) on Tuesday reported second-quarter profit of $790.8 million.On a per-share basis, the Hartford, Connecticut-based company said it had profit of $2.23. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $2.21 per share.The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.11 per share.The health insurer posted revenue of $15.9 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $15.74 billion.Aetna expects full-year earnings in the range of $7.90 to $8.10 per share.Aetna shares have risen almost 6 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 6 percent. The stock has increased slightly in the last 12 months._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AET at http://www.zacks.com/ap/AET_____Keywords: Aetna, Earnings Report, Priority EarningsJoin the conversation about this story
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