Centene Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Centene Corporation saw a significant surge in put options trading, with 46,123 contracts purchased, marking a 90% increase from typical volumes.
• CEO Sarah London recently acquired 19,230 shares at an average price of $25.50, indicating a personal investment of approximately $490,365.
• Institutional investors hold a substantial portion of Centene's stock, representing 93.63% of the company's ownership, while analysts have recently downgraded the stock's ratings and modified their price targets.

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 46,123 put options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately90% compared to the typical volume of 24,224 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CNC. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America cut Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Centene from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.50. The stock had a trading volume of 19,596,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,570,596. Centene has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $37.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analysts' expectations of $44.71 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 203.1% during the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Company Profile

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.