Anthem Inc (ANTM) has agreed to pay $115 million in order to settle US lawsuits in relation with the 2015 data breach, an event which put at risk the personal information of almost 79 million people. According to lawyers, this would be the largest amount ever paid for a data breach settlement. Among the victims of the hack are supposed to be present and former clients of Anthem as well as other insurance companies affiliated with Anthem via the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The hack had not compromised credit card or medical information, the largest health insurance company in the US claimed.
Anthem shares closed lower for a second time in the past six trading sessions on Friday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since May 17th. The stock went down 1.65% ($3.19) to $190.17, after touching an intraday low at $189.91, or a price level not seen since June 16th ($188.47). In the week ended on June 25th the shares of the health benefit company added 0.11% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of gains. It has been the smallest weekly increase in at least a year. The stock has pared its advance to 4.29% so far during the current month, following a 2.51% surge in May. The latter has been a seventh straight month of gains. For the entire past year, Anthem shares rose 3.11%.
According to Anthems lawyers, the amount is to utilized to pay for 2 years of credit monitoring for those affected by the data breach.
At the same time, individuals already enrolled in credit monitoring have the option to receive cash instead – up to $50 per person, according to Reuters.
Jill Becher, a spokesperson for Anthem Inc, stated that the credit monitoring in the settlement represented an addition to the 2-year credit monitoring, which had been offered to people affected by the data breach when the latter was unveiled in February 2015.
According to Becher, there was no evidence suggesting that compromised information had been sold or used with fraudulent intentions.
According to CNN Money, the 19 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Anthem Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $193.00, with a high estimate of $243.00 and a low estimate of $160.00. The median estimate is a 1.49% surge compared to the closing price of $190.17 on June 23rd.
The same media also reported that 10 out of 21 surveyed investment analysts had rated Anthem Inc’s stock as “Hold”, while 9 – as “Buy”.
Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels
With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Anthem stock are presented as follows:
R1 – $190.55
R2 – $190.93
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $191.31
R4 (Long Breakout) – $192.44
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $193.77
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $194.31
S1 – $189.79
S2 – $189.41
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $189.03
S4 (Short Breakout) – $187.90
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $186.57
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $186.03
By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Anthem Inc (ANTM) are presented as follows:
Central Pivot Point – $191.67
R1 – $193.44
R2 – $196.70
R3 – $198.47
R4 – $200.23
S1 – $188.41
S2 – $186.64
S3 – $183.38
S4 – $180.11