Investors Purchase Large Volume of Centene Call Options (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Centene Corporation experienced a significant surge in call options trading, with over 52,000 call options bought on Thursday, marking a 55% increase from its typical volume.
• Analysts have notably cut their price targets for Centene, with estimates ranging from $28 to $43, while maintaining a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $37.93.
• Despite reporting missed earnings estimates, Centene's revenue increased by 22.4% year-over-year, reflecting strong operational performance amidst market challenges.

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 52,097 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 55% compared to the typical volume of 33,700 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Centene by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,396,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,169,768,000 after acquiring an additional 869,706 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene in the second quarter worth $1,435,997,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Centene by 2.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,186,927 shares of the company's stock worth $1,258,586,000 after purchasing an additional 514,600 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 2.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,208,639 shares of the company's stock worth $718,547,000 after purchasing an additional 279,637 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,725,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $636,482,000 after buying an additional 633,946 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.33.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.20. 16,853,369 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,156,467. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.83. Centene has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $77.29.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $48.74 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.