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

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 20,784 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 64% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,635 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 53.5% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,984,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,801,000 after buying an additional 1,040,780 shares during the last quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc raised its holdings in Centene by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 66,470 shares of the company's stock worth $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 41,855 shares of the company's stock worth $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,789,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,901,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.87. 2,423,381 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,413,303. The business's 50-day moving average price is $61.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Centene will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current 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.