Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Centene (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 6,219 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 64% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,781 put options.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $74.00 on Friday. Centene has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.32 and its 200-day moving average is $74.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Centene will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,325,441,000. Harris Associates L P grew its position in Centene by 172.8% during the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,170,000 after buying an additional 6,881,450 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Centene by 8.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after purchasing an additional 704,684 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Centene by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,619,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,878,000 after purchasing an additional 385,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Centene by 7.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,023,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,918,000 after purchasing an additional 408,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

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.