Centene Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 10,369 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 128% compared to the typical volume of 4,546 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.31.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $55.40 on Wednesday. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $54.01 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.29 and a 200-day moving average of $60.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $27.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 33,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in Centene by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 77,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,682,000 after purchasing an additional 14,905 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Centene by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 1,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 3,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.