Centene (NYSE:CNC) Trading Down 10.3% – Time to Sell?

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)’s share price traded down 10.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $37.62 and last traded at $38.8740. 3,898,219 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 6,070,513 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Centene from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.06.

Centene Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.32.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,435,997,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. 8 Knots Management LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at about $186,662,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Centene by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,171,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472,341 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.