Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Centene Put Options (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 11,689 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 57% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,432 put options.

Centene Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $62.22 on Wednesday. Centene has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The company has a market capitalization of $30.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.57.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Argus downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.69.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.