** Shares of Challenger CGF.AX rise 2.5% to A$7.055, set for fourth session of consecutive gains
** Insurer on Thursday reported a 20% jump in Q3 total life annuity sales at A$991 million
** Macquarie notes that the firm's retail annuity sales grew by 2% y-o-y while institutional annuity sales surged by 200%, reflecting its strategic focus on longer maturity and higher-margin business
** Macquarie raises its price target A$7 from A$6.60, while maintaining "Outperform" rating
** Brokerage also highlights that Japanese sales contributed ~24.2% of the Q3 sales, indicating CGF's significant market presence in Japan
** Stock up 17.6% YTD
(Reporting by Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru)
((Tanishk.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com; X: @thatstanishk http://www.x.com/thatstanishk;))