Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Centene Put Options (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 20,544 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 165% compared to the typical volume of 7,749 put options.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $68.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,216,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,655,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Centene has a twelve month low of $31.63 and a twelve month high of $78.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.93 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.07.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $50.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.12 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 0.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centene will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 9.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 61,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,803,000 after purchasing an additional 5,065 shares during the period. Paralel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 71,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after buying an additional 4,389 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $700,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Centene by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Centene from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.80.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation is a U.S. health care company that provides managed care and related services, primarily for people enrolled in government-sponsored health programs. Its offerings include Medicaid and Medicare plans, as well as health insurance sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Centene serves members through health plans and a network of health care providers. Its businesses include Ambetter, which offers marketplace health plans, and Wellcare, which provides Medicare-related coverage.