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

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $72.90, but opened at $69.55. Centene shares last traded at $69.60, with a volume of 701,755 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

Centene Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.97 and a 200-day moving average of $72.87. The firm has a market cap of $36.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 154.6% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.