Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $61.58, but opened at $58.40. Centene shares last traded at $57.22, with a volume of 1,320,242 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus cut shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.69.

Centene Trading Down 6.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The business's 50-day moving average price is $60.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.81.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.70. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

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.