Monetta Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Monetta Financial Services initiated a Centene stake in the second quarter, purchasing 29,500 shares valued at approximately $1.9 million, representing 1.3% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 93.63% of Centene.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Argus and Zacks upgraded the stock, while Goldman Sachs maintained a sell rating. Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.
• Centene reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.51 versus the $1.09 consensus estimate and revenue of $53.58 billion, up 9.9% year over year. However, the company posted a negative net margin of 2.51%, and its general counsel sold shares worth about $3.1 million.

Monetta Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 29,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,894,000. Centene makes up 1.3% of Monetta Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,344,676,000 after acquiring an additional 190,334 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at about $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company's stock worth $1,308,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Centene by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company's stock worth $554,338,000 after buying an additional 697,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. increased its holdings in Centene by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Centene from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised Centene from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock opened at $64.66 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.16. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.24 and a 52-week high of $69.36. The company has a market capitalization of $31.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.19, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,957,937.44. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Centene

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene's offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.

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