Centene trades higher after Q3 report, positive progress on Health Net issues

Shares of Centene (CNC) are trading higher Tuesday after the healthcare company's third quarter report, which included a tightened full-year outlook and positive commentary on its Health Net subsidiary. CENTENE SAYS DEFICIENCY ISSUES RESOLVED: Centene reported Q3 adjusted earnings per share of $1.16 on revenue of $10.85B, as compared to expectations for $1.15 on $10.96B. Membership for its managed care business rose to 11.4M from last September's 4.8M, representing a year-over-year increase of 137%. Looking ahead, the company forecast Q4 profit of $1.05-$1.15 versus analyst estimates of $1.15, and revised its full-year view to $4.28-$4.38 from $4.20-$4.55 while keeping its $39.4B-$40B FY16 revenue view unchanged. Notably, Centene added that it "continued to make progress" on resolving issues associated with the premium deficiency reserve at its recently-acquired Health Net subsidiary, including planning to exit its Arizona "preferred provider" business, leading it to comment Tuesday that "we believe we have resolved the issues associated with the premium deficiency reserve for 2017." PRICE ACTION: Shares of Centene are up almost 3% to $64.80 in afternoon trading.