Oppenheimer Has Lowered Expectations for Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from $95.00 to $85.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer's price target would suggest a potential upside of 43.07% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CNC. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.31.

Centene Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE CNC traded up $1.41 on Friday, reaching $59.41. The company had a trading volume of 7,063,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,099,720. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.28 and a 200-day moving average of $68.73. Centene has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 32.4% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 42,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,549 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the third quarter worth $211,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Centene by 18.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 60,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,528,000 after purchasing an additional 9,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $844,000. 93.63% of the stock is 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.