Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $61.58, but opened at $58.40. Centene shares last traded at $57.22, with a volume of 1,320,242 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.77.

Centene Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company's 50 day moving average is $60.15 and its 200-day moving average is $60.71. The stock has a market cap of $29.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,536,167,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock worth $469,053,000 after buying an additional 2,319,952 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,033,000 after buying an additional 2,126,582 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Centene by 111.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,608,213 shares of the company's stock worth $219,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902,277 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Centene by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company's stock worth $639,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,358 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.