Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $52.00. The stock had previously closed at $56.65, but opened at $37.34. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Centene shares last traded at $35.17, with a volume of 21,400,023 shares traded.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Centene from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Down 40.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $57.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.57.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 2.04%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

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.