Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $89.00 to $93.00. The stock had previously closed at $70.73, but opened at $75.73. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Centene shares last traded at $73.28, with a volume of 1,120,956 shares.

CNC has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays began coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.38.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Up 2.8 %

The company has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.52.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.