Centene (NYSE:CNC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - What's Next?

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 18,236,303 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 156% from the previous session's volume of 7,114,759 shares.The stock last traded at $27.14 and had previously closed at $29.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 price objective (down from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Centene from $84.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.50.

Centene Trading Down 9.2%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $48.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $13.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.44.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. Centene's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 45,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 16,108 shares in the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $610,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 216,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,142,000 after purchasing an additional 100,039 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 708,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,026,000 after purchasing an additional 163,462 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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