Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Cencora Put Options (NYSE:COR)

Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 4,184 put options on the company. This is an increase of 221% compared to the typical volume of 1,302 put options.

Cencora Price Performance

NYSE:COR opened at $279.29 on Friday. Cencora has a 12-month low of $214.77 and a 12-month high of $296.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $257.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.40.

Cencora (NYSE:COR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.23. Cencora had a return on equity of 328.62% and a net margin of 0.46%. On average, analysts anticipate that Cencora will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Cencora’s payout ratio is 31.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on COR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cencora from $289.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cencora from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cencora from $251.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Cencora from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 14,578 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.51, for a total transaction of $3,928,916.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 317,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,680,732.63. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth S. Campbell sold 4,127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.28, for a total value of $1,107,191.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,665 shares in the company, valued at $3,934,326.20. The trade was a 21.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,675 shares of company stock valued at $8,034,778. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COR. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cencora by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Cencora in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cencora during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cencora by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Cencora in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.52% of the company’s stock.

Cencora Company Profile

Cencora, Inc sources and distributes pharmaceutical products. The company's U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment distributes pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers; provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers; clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support services; data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers; pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and other products to the companion animal and production animal markets; and sales force services to manufacturers.