Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$57.72 -0.76 (-1.31%)

Closing price 02/21/2025 03:59 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$57.77 +0.06 (+0.10%)

As of 02/21/2025 07:59 PM Eastern

Centene - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2025)

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

Consensus Rating

Moderate Buy

Based on 15 Analyst Ratings

Sell
1

Hold
5

Buy
9

Based on 15 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Centene in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 15 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 5 have given a hold rating, and 9 have given a buy rating for CNC.

Consensus Price Target

$79.92
38.48% Upside

According to the 15 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Centene, the average price target is $79.92. The highest price target for CNC is $93.00, while the lowest price target for CNC is $52.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 38.48% from the current price of $57.72.

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CNC Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 2/23/24 to 2/22/25	1 Month Ago 1/24/24 to 1/23/25	3 Months Ago 11/25/23 to 11/24/24	1 Year Ago 2/23/23 to 2/23/24
Strong Buy	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	9 Buy rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)
Hold	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)
Sell	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$79.92	$80.92	$83.92	$83.57
Forecasted Upside	38.48% Upside	24.22% Upside	39.01% Upside	4.20% Upside
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Hold

CNC Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

CNC Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Centene Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Centene	Medical Companies	S&P 500
Consensus Rating Score	2.53	2.82	2.53
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	38.48% Upside	29,257.96% Upside	14.36% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent CNC News	Positive News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export to Excel

Date	Brokerage	Analyst Name	Action	Rating	Price Target	Upside/Downside on Report Date
2/14/2025	Wells Fargo & Company 3 of 5 stars	Stephen Baxter Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$76.00 ➝ $72.00	+26.47%
2/6/2025	Argus 2 of 5 stars	J. Staszak Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold
2/4/2025	Robert W. Baird 2 of 5 stars		Boost Target		$66.00 ➝ $71.00	+14.78%
12/17/2024	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Neutral ➝ Overweight	$80.00 ➝ $75.00	+26.75%
12/13/2024	Stephens Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Equal Weight ➝ Equal Weight	$75.00 ➝ $73.00	+22.09%
12/13/2024	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$91.00 ➝ $93.00	+57.71%
12/13/2024	Truist Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$89.00 ➝ $84.00	+42.45%
12/13/2024	Oppenheimer Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$95.00 ➝ $85.00	+46.55%
12/13/2024	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	K. Caliendo Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Neutral ➝ Buy	$79.00 ➝ $80.00	+37.93%
12/11/2024	Cantor Fitzgerald Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$90.00 ➝ $90.00	+63.07%
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12/10/2024	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Hold ➝ Underperform	$68.00 ➝ $52.00	-11.13%
10/30/2024	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$96.00 ➝ $88.00	+42.19%
8/2/2024	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$82.00 ➝ $87.00	+11.80%
7/31/2024	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$80.00 ➝ $89.00	+14.68%
5/30/2024	Baird R W Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	M. Ha Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Hold
9/5/2023	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Underperform ➝ Neutral	$79.00 ➝ $72.00	+17.51%
8/30/2023	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Overweight ➝ Equal Weight	$94.00 ➝ $73.00	+13.28%
7/12/2023	Wolfe Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Outperform ➝ Peer Perform
7/11/2023	Mizuho Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target		$80.00 ➝ $76.00	+12.91%
4/26/2023	Credit Suisse Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target		$94.00 ➝ $87.00	+25.56%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Saturday at 05:54 PM ET.

Should I Buy Centene Stock? CNC Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Thursday, February 20, 2025. Please send any questions or comments about these Centene pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Centene
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Centene Co.:

Centene Co. recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.80, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.49, indicating strong financial performance and effective management.
The company has a market capitalization of $28.50 billion, which reflects its substantial size and stability in the healthcare sector, making it a potentially safer investment.
With a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.05, Centene Co. appears undervalued compared to the industry average, suggesting that the stock may have room for growth.
Centene Co. has a current stock price that is positioned between its 52-week low of $55.03 and high of $81.42, indicating potential for price appreciation.
The company has received a majority of "buy" ratings from analysts, with an average target price of $79.92, suggesting positive sentiment and potential upside for investors.

Centene
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Centene Co. for these reasons:

Centene Co. has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, which, while manageable, indicates that the company is somewhat reliant on debt financing, potentially increasing financial risk.
Recent downgrades from analysts, including a reduction from "strong-buy" to "buy," may signal concerns about the company's future performance and market conditions.
Jefferies Financial Group has issued an "underperform" rating with a price target of $52.00, suggesting that some analysts believe the stock may not perform well in the near term.
The company's net margin of 2.03% is relatively low, indicating that profitability may be constrained, which could affect future earnings growth.
With a beta of 0.45, Centene Co. is less volatile than the market, which may appeal to conservative investors but could limit potential high returns in a bullish market.

CNC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

: According to the research reports of 15 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Centene is $79.92, with a high forecast of $93.00 and a low forecast of $52.00.
: 15 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Centene in the last year. There is currently 1 sell rating, 5 hold ratings and 9 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" CNC shares.
: According to analysts, Centene's stock has a predicted upside of 38.48% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.
: Over the previous 90 days, Centene's stock had 2 downgrades and 1 upgrade by analysts.
: Centene has been rated by research analysts at Argus, Barclays, Cantor Fitzgerald, Jefferies Financial Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Oppenheimer, Robert W. Baird, Stephens, Truist Financial, UBS Group, and Wells Fargo & Company in the past 90 days.
: Analysts like Centene less than other "medical" companies. The consensus rating score for Centene is 2.53 while the average consensus rating score for "medical" companies is 2.82. Learn more on how CNC compares to other companies.

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This page (NYSE:CNC) was last updated on 2/22/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target