Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Raised to $38.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised the price target for Centene (NYSE:CNC) from $28.00 to $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.93% from the stock's previous close.
• The stock has received mixed ratings, with three analysts recommending a Buy rating, thirteen a Hold rating, and three a Sell rating, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $39.50.
• Centene reported a net margin of 1.15% and a year-over-year revenue increase of 22.4%, despite missing the earnings per share consensus estimate in its last earnings report.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $28.00 to $38.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 4.93% from the stock's previous close.

CNC has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial set a $42.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.50.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,747,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,407,887. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.34 and a 200-day moving average of $44.22. The firm has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.48. Centene has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The company's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Centene by 32.3% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the company's stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 55.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the company's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter worth $315,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 49.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 136,178 shares of the company's stock worth $8,267,000 after purchasing an additional 45,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter worth $324,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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