Centene Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 9,141 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 95% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,689 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Centene by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in Centene by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Centene by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,200,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,373,923. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Centene has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. Centene’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.11 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.