UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Centene Corp. with Equal-Weight Rating on Revenue Growth, Near-Term Execution Risk

In a report published Thursday, Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Schenker initiated coverage on

with an Equal-Weight rating. In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “While the Medicaid expansion, non-reform pipeline, and dual eligible opportunity will drive meaningful top-line growth we believe that much of this is priced into the stock. Lack of new RFPs in the near term could pressure the multiple as earnings growth normalizes over the next few years. Better/worse than expected execution on new contracts and Medicaid lives drives upside/downside.” Centene Corp. closed on Wednesday at $57.33.