Centene falls after flagging bigger drop in Medicaid membership

Shares of health insurer Centene fall 8.2% to $58.81 after the company said its Medicaid membership through the year is expected to decline between 8% and 9%, compared with a previously expected dip of 6%.

CEO Sarah London said the issue is "not something that we can or should hand wave" and said the company plans to restore the Medicaid business to profitability over the next few years.

Baird Equity Research said, "Commentary around the low utilizer mix of Medicaid Expansion members has been insufficient to give us confidence ahead of Medicaid work requirements."

Centene raised its annual adjusted profit forecast to more than $4.80 per share, compared with a previous expectation of above $3.40 per share. Analysts expect annual profit of $3.52 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Including the session's move, CNC is up 42.8% year to date.