Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Centene (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 15,556 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 62% compared to the average daily volume of 9,617 put options.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $60.80 per share, with a total value 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 $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

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

Centene Price Performance

CNC traded up $2.21 on Friday, reaching $60.21. 4,013,506 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,086,408. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.73. Centene has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.31.

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.