Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Acquires 9,540 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,010,459 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,540 shares during the quarter. Centene comprises 1.5% of Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Centene were worth $33,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Centene by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its position in Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Centene by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,171,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,111,000 after buying an additional 2,472,341 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 535.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,750,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,176,000 after buying an additional 2,317,618 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Centene

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results and raised outlook: Centene reported adjusted earnings of $2.51 per share, well above the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.9% year over year to $53.58 billion. The insurer also raised its 2026 earnings outlook to at least $4.80 per share, citing contained medical costs. Centene Lifts 2026 Outlook as Insurer Contains Medical Costs
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support has strengthened: Zacks Research upgraded CNC from “hold” to “strong buy,” while Truist maintained its buy rating. Robert W. Baird also expects the stock to rise, providing additional support for the recent rally. Zacks.com Truist Financial Keeps Their Buy Rating on Centene
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and valuation remain favorable: Zacks included Centene among its Rank #1 momentum stocks, and other analyses describe CNC as potentially undervalued following its earnings recovery. These reports may attract momentum and value-oriented investors. Best Momentum Stock to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative investment appeal: A comparison with UnitedHealth favors UNH because of its diversified platform, Optum growth and artificial-intelligence investments. The assessment does not identify a new negative development at Centene but could limit CNC’s appeal among managed-care investors. UnitedHealth vs. Centene
• Negative Sentiment: Medicaid and membership concerns persist: Coverage highlights declining membership and ongoing Medicaid-related pressure, which could challenge revenue growth and margins even as medical-cost trends improve. Medicaid Weighs on Centene

Centene Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $62.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $30.74 billion, a PE ratio of -5.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800- EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centene 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.