UPDATE: Bank Of America Reiterates On Centene On Raised Estimates

In a report published Wednesday, Bank of America analyst Kevin Fischbeck reiterated a Buy rating on Centene (NYSE: CNC), and raised the price target from $89.00 to $94.00.

In the report, Bank of America noted, “CNC reported Q2 EPS of $0.79, $0.07 above consensus and $0.09 above our ests, driven primarily by lower than expected MLR and SG&A. Additionally, CNC raised the low end of 2014 guidance by $0.10, to $3.70-$3.90, despite including $0.05 of incremental business development/transaction costs, implying a $0.10 core raise at the midpoint on higher revenues.

"Coming into the year, the risk was that CNC's rapid revenue growth would be difficult to manage, but with the company continuing to execute, we are increasing our 2014/15/16 to $3.80/$4.84/$5.58 from $3.70/$4.79/$5.53 and raising our PO to $94 from $89.”

Centene closed on Tuesday at $79.98.