Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

CNC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.81.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $38.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.99. Centene has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $66.03.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.41 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Centene by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,396,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,169,768,000 after buying an additional 869,706 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,435,997,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 2.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,186,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,586,000 after purchasing an additional 514,600 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 76.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,356,152 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 2.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,208,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,547,000 after purchasing an additional 279,637 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Centene News

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Centene guided to adjusted EPS of $3.00 for FY‑2026, above consensus, and said profit should be above Wall Street expectations — a sign management expects cost stabilization. Centene sees 2026 profit above estimates signaling stabilizing costs (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat estimates ($49.73B vs. ~$48.4B) and revenue rose ~22% YoY, driven by PDP and Marketplace growth — top‑line strength that supports future scale. Centene Q4 results and press release (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts/upgrades are framing the pullback as a buying opportunity after the stock’s earlier drop, which could attract tactical interest if costs improve. Centene Is On The Mend After A Hefty Fall (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released its earnings call transcript and slide deck — useful for investors parsing management’s details on Medicaid remediation and cost actions. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Local PR items (Health Net community events) are positive for brand/marketing but unlikely to move the stock materially. Health Net and Pro Football Hall of Fame event (PR Newswire)
• Negative Sentiment: Centene reported a Q4 GAAP/adjusted loss (about $1.19 EPS vs. a year‑ago profit), citing rising medical costs that drove a >$1B hit — a key driver of the selloff. Centene Reports $1 Billion Loss (Forbes)
• Negative Sentiment: Medicaid membership declined, and management gave a mixed revenue outlook — revenue guidance ($186.5B–$190.5B) came in below consensus, raising concerns about near‑term growth and margin recovery. Centene Takes A Hit As Medicaid Membership Shrinks (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and news outlets highlighted the mixed 2026 outlook and ongoing medical-cost pressure despite top‑line growth — the primary reason investors moved to sell. Centene Swings to Loss Despite Higher Revenue (WSJ)

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.