Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $56.90, but opened at $58.50. Centene shares last traded at $58.55, with a volume of 731,470 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.31.

Centene Trading Up 2.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $29.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 32.4% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 21.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,171,000 after buying an additional 7,549 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at about $211,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 60,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 9,287 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $844,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.