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

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.56, but opened at $35.52. Centene shares last traded at $34.7420, with a volume of 3,496,633 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $41.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.82.

Centene Stock Down 8.5%

The company has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.60.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a positive return on equity of 7.82% and a negative net margin of 2.85%.The firm had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the third quarter worth about $563,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP increased its stake in Centene by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 9,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 3,215 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 8,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 3,323 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 940,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,573,000 after acquiring an additional 104,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at about $8,190,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.