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

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 20,784 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 64% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,635 put options.

Centene Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of CNC opened at $56.45 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.80. The stock has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 5,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,780. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $982,000. Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 9,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 230,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,941,000 after acquiring an additional 77,865 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in Centene by 53.5% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 41,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,531,000 after purchasing an additional 14,560 shares during the period. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its position in Centene by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 51,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,148,000 after acquiring an additional 16,544 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.