Closing Bell: Vertex Rises, Centene Sinks, Oracle Posts Strong Earnings

Today's biggest winners and losers in the stock market.

On this episode of Stock Movers:

Listen for comprehensive cross-platform coverage of the US market close as heard on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and YouTube with Romaine Bostick, Katie Greifeld, Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec.

- Vertex (VRTX) shares rose after the biotech company said its drug to treat a kidney disorder met its goal in a late-stage trial, providing a boost to its strategy of moving beyond cystic fibrosis treatments.

- Centene (CNC) shares sank on Tuesday after the health insurer flagged rising medical costs and declining membership, adding to an already cautious outlook for the industry. Centene said it expects enrollment in the Affordable Care Act marketplace will decline by about 35% or more across the industry after some federal ACA subsidies expired. It sees its own membership potentially dropping even faster. The company’s membership dropped from 5.5 million in December to 3.6 million in February, a decline that CEO Sarah London said was “in line with our expectations.” Shares of the St. Louis, Missouri-based company fell as much as 13%, the most intraday since January. The stock had gained 5.3% so far this year through Monday’s close.

- Oracle (ORCL) posted quarterly cloud revenue that was better than expected and projected strong sales in the upcoming fiscal year, a sign the company is making good on its massive AI bookings. Revenue in Oracle’s closely watched infrastructure business gained 84% to $4.9 billion in the period ended Feb. 28, the company said Tuesday in a statement. That marked a faster increase than the 79% anticipated by analysts and a 68% sales rise in the previous quarter. The shares increased about 7% in extended trading after closing at $149.40 in New York.

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