Centene Corporation
CNC
$35.11
+3.42%
Centene Corporation is a major managed care organization focused on government-sponsored healthcare plans. It is a leading player in the Medicaid, Medicare, and individual exchange markets, leveraging its scale and specialized focus on public sector health programs.
CNC
Centene Corporation
$35.11
CNC 12-Month Price Forecast
Wall Street consensus
Most Wall Street analysts maintain a constructive view on Centene Corporation's 12-month outlook, with a consensus price target around $45.64 and implied upside of +30.0% versus the current price.
Average Target
$45.64
7 analysts
Implied Upside
+30.0%
vs. current price
Analyst Count
7
covering this stock
Price Range
$28 - $46
Analyst target range
Wall Street analyst coverage for Centene appears limited, with only six analysts providing estimates. The consensus estimates for the company are an EPS of $8.79 and revenue of $200.38 billion. Recent institutional ratings have been predominantly neutral, with firms like JP Morgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Cantor Fitzgerald maintaining 'Neutral' or 'Equal Weight' stances. Barclays upgraded the stock to 'Overweight' in early January 2026, and Bernstein maintains an 'Outperform' rating. A specific consensus target price is not provided in the data.
CNC Technical Analysis
The stock has experienced significant volatility and a pronounced downtrend over the observed period. From a peak near $47 in mid-January 2026, the price has declined sharply, closing at $32.74 on March 31, 2026, representing a 20.4% drop over the last three months and a severe 27.0% decline over the past month. The price action shows a clear breakdown from a higher trading range established in late 2025 and early 2026.
Short-term performance has been exceptionally weak. The one-month change of -27.05% significantly underperformed the S&P 500's -5.25% return, indicating severe stock-specific pressure. The three-month decline of -20.44% also far exceeded the broader market's -4.63% drop, highlighting persistent negative momentum.
The current price of $32.74 is much closer to its 52-week low of $25.08 than its high of $66.03, trading near the lower end of its annual range. This positioning, following the steep recent decline, suggests the stock is in a technically oversold condition, though no RSI data was provided to confirm this.
Beta
0.46
0.46x market volatility
Max Drawdown
-60.8%
Largest decline past year
52-Week Range
$25-$66
Price range past year
Annual Return
-42.2%
Cumulative gain past year
| Period | CNC Return | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 1m | -19.9% | -3.6% |
| 3m | -16.0% | -4.0% |
| 6m | -9.3% | -2.0% |
| 1y | -42.2% | +16.2% |
| ytd | -16.0% | -3.8% |
Bobby - Your AI Investment Partner
Get real-time data, AI-driven personalized investment analysis to make smarter investment decisions
CNC Fundamental Analysis
Revenue growth has been strong on a year-over-year basis, with Q4 2025 revenue of $49.73 billion representing a 21.9% increase from the prior year. However, profitability has deteriorated sharply. The company reported a net loss of -$1.1 billion for Q4 2025, compared to a net income of $283 million in Q4 2024, resulting in a net margin of -2.2%. This follows a pattern of volatile quarterly results, including a massive $6.6 billion loss in Q3 2025.
Financial health shows a manageable debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, indicating a balanced capital structure. The company maintains a strong current ratio of 1.68, suggesting good short-term liquidity. Cash flow generation has been positive, with trailing twelve-month free cash flow of $4.32 billion, providing operational flexibility despite the reported losses.
Operational efficiency metrics are concerning. Return on Equity (ROE) is deeply negative at -33.4%, and Return on Assets (ROA) is a minimal 1.0%, reflecting poor profitability on shareholder equity and company assets. The negative and volatile earnings highlight significant challenges in converting top-line growth into bottom-line results.
Quarterly Revenue
$49.7B
2025-12
Revenue YoY Growth
+0.21%
YoY Comparison
Gross Margin
+0.15%
Latest Quarter
Free Cash Flow
$4.3B
Last 12 Months
Revenue & Net Income Trends (2 Years)
Revenue Breakdown
Open an Account, get $2 TSLA now!
Valuation Analysis: Is CNC Overvalued?
Given the company's negative net income and EBITDA, the Price-to-Sales (PS) ratio is the most appropriate valuation metric. Centene trades at a PS ratio of approximately 0.10, based on the provided data. This indicates the market is valuing the company at a significant discount relative to its revenue, which is consistent with its current lack of profitability.
Peer comparison data is not available in the provided inputs. The forward P/E ratio of 8.03, based on analyst estimates, suggests the market anticipates a return to profitability. However, the trailing P/E is negative due to recent losses, and the EV/EBITDA is also negative at -4.10, further underscoring the current earnings challenges that make sales-based multiples more relevant.
PE
-3.0x
Latest Quarter
vs. Historical
Low-End
5-Year PE Range -72x~220x
vs. Industry Avg
N/A
Industry PE ~N/A*
EV/EBITDA
-4.1x
Enterprise Value Multiple