Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Centene's stock price fell sharply from $36.02 to $33.42 before market open, currently trading at $33.66, marking a significant downward trend.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings, with a consensus "Hold" rating and a price target averaging $39.50, but varying from a "sell" rating with a $33.00 price objective by Goldman Sachs to a "neutral" rating with a target of $40.00 by Mizuho.
• Centene reported a loss of ($0.16) EPS in its most recent quarter, missing expectations significantly despite revenue increasing by 22.4% year-over-year.

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $36.02, but opened at $33.42. Centene shares last traded at $33.66, with a volume of 2,704,783 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CNC. Mizuho boosted their price target on Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.50.

Centene Stock Down 7.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.22.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%.Centene's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 55.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 2,181 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 48.1% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 49,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,003,000 after buying an additional 16,068 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 2.5% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 19,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 15.6% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 232,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,087,000 after buying an additional 31,319 shares during the last quarter. 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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