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

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $63.53, but opened at $64.94. Centene shares last traded at $63.82, with a volume of 278,273 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens decreased their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have given 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 $80.92.

Centene Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.36 and its 200 day moving average is $67.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Centene by 693.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,935 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,932,000 after buying an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 22.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,799,000 after buying an additional 832,318 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Centene by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,042,000 after acquiring an additional 636,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,126,000 after purchasing an additional 428,100 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.