Centene Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 17,741 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 92% compared to the typical volume of 9,244 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Centene Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.95. 2,139,720 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,869,331. Centene has a 1-year low of $59.77 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The firm has a market cap of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Centene by 41.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 154.6% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 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.