Investors Purchase High Volume of Centene Put Options (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 9,358 put options on the company. This is an increase of 126% compared to the average volume of 4,133 put options.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $72.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.50. Centene has a 52 week low of $62.50 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Centene will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 327,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,298,000 after buying an additional 112,605 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 18.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 624,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,046,000 after acquiring an additional 98,298 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Centene by 435.0% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 20,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 16,304 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 35.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 7,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Centene by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 947,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,320,000 after purchasing an additional 51,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.75.

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.