Centene Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 101,459 put options on the company. This is an increase of 148% compared to the average daily volume of 40,939 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.07.

Centene Stock Down 5.5%

CNC opened at $35.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.48. Centene has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $73.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 97,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,910,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.