Apple Inc. and insurance company Aetna Inc. held talks late last week to bring Apple’s fitness-tracking smartwatch to Aetna’s 23 million members, according to a report from CNBC on Monday, citing unnamed sources. Shares of Aetna were up more than 2% during intraday trade on Monday, while Apple shares were up 1.5%. According to the report Aetna, which currently offers an Apple Watch to its 50,000 employees as part of a wellness program, is negotiating to offer free or discounted watches to members. For the first three months of the year the Apple Watch was the top-selling wearable tracker on the market, overtaking Fitbit. CNBC’s report says Aetna’s proposed timeline is for early next year. Shares of Aetna are up more than 25% in the year to date, while Apple shares are up more than 38%. By comparison, the S&P 500 index is up more than 10%.
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