Centene (NYSE:CNC) Upgraded at Argus

Key Points

• Argus upgraded Centene from “hold” to “buy” and set an $80 price target, implying about 20.3% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Centene reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.51 versus $1.09 expected and revenue of $53.58 billion, up 9.9% year over year.
• Despite the upgrade, the analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $69.15; institutional investors own 93.63% of the company.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $80.00 price target on the stock. Argus' target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.28% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on CNC. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.15.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $66.51 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $64.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.10. Centene has a 1 year low of $25.23 and a 1 year high of $69.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. 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 (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. Centene's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800- EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 17,143,904 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,279,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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