Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading 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 changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.31.

Centene Trading Up 2.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $29.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in Centene by 1,190.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 41.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 174.3% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by 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.