XTX Topco Ltd Buys 16,298 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 347.6%, acquiring an additional 16,298 shares, bringing its total holdings to 20,987 shares valued at approximately $1.27 million.
• Analysts have downgraded Centene's ratings, with price targets dropping significantly; Wells Fargo reduced their target from $72 to $30, while Morgan Stanley cut their target from $70 to $33.
• The company reported a loss of $0.16 per share in its latest earnings, which was below the analysts' consensus estimate of $0.23, despite revenue increasing by 22.4% year-over-year.

XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 347.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,987 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,298 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Centene were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 203.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $70.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America cut Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.31.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $25.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.42, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.10. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.11 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.39 and a 200 day moving average of $54.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm's revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

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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