Cencora Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:COR)

Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 2,882 call options on the company. This is an increase of 145% compared to the average daily volume of 1,178 call options.

Cencora Stock Performance

NYSE COR traded up $8.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $233.35. 1,397,657 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,415,036. Cencora has a 1 year low of $182.75 and a 1 year high of $247.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $232.64 and its 200-day moving average is $231.18. The company has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.44.

Cencora (NYSE:COR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.16. Cencora had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 266.60%. The business had revenue of $74.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cencora will post 13.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Insider Activity at Cencora

In related news, EVP Silvana Battaglia sold 1,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.69, for a total transaction of $357,482.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,656,970.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Cencora news, EVP Silvana Battaglia sold 1,473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.69, for a total transaction of $357,482.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,948 shares in the company, valued at $2,656,970.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 4,438,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.56, for a total value of $1,067,646,415.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,980,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,806,388,800. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COR. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in Cencora by 4.7% during the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Cencora by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cencora by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cencora by 4.7% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cencora by 5.4% during the second quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COR has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $275.00) on shares of Cencora in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Cencora from $280.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Cencora from $277.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Cencora from $270.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cencora from $236.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.44.

About Cencora

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.