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Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

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$34.13 +0.05 (+0.15%)
As of 10:43 AM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more.

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

Consensus Rating

Sell
1
Hold
13
Buy
3

Based on 17 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Centene in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold." Out of the 17 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 13 have given a hold rating, and 3 have given a buy rating for CNC.

Consensus Price Target

$38.33
12.32% Upside
According to the 17 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Centene, the average price target is $38.33. The highest price target for CNC is $73.00, while the lowest price target for CNC is $28.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 12.32% from the current price of $34.13.
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.
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CNC Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
9/12/24 to 9/12/25
1 Month Ago
8/13/24 to 8/13/25
3 Months Ago
6/14/24 to 6/14/25
1 Year Ago
9/13/23 to 9/12/24
Strong Buy
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
3 Buy rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
9 Buy rating(s)
6 Buy rating(s)
Hold
13 Hold rating(s)
13 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$38.33$42.20$77.71$85.75
Forecasted Upside12.32% Upside55.78% Upside40.80% Upside14.62% Upside
Consensus RatingHoldHoldModerate BuyHold

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.
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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.
Skip Chart and View Analyst Price Target HistorySkip Chart & View Price History Table

Centene Stock vs. The Competition

TypeCenteneMedical CompaniesS&P 500
Consensus Rating Score
2.12
2.78
2.53
Consensus RatingHoldModerate BuyModerate Buy
Predicted Upside11.87% Upside17,289.05% Upside10.00% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent CNC News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
9/12/2025Barclays
3 of 5 stars
Andrew Mok
Andrew Mok
Not Rated
Boost TargetEqual Weight$33.00 ➝ $35.00+2.49%
9/12/2025Truist Financial
3 of 5 stars
Ryan MacDonald
Not Rated
Boost TargetBuy$35.00 ➝ $39.00+14.20%
9/5/2025Sanford C. Bernstein
4 of 5 stars
Lance Wilkes
Not Rated
Lower TargetOutperform$40.00 ➝ $36.00+25.68%
8/26/2025Cantor Fitzgerald
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Reiterated RatingNeutral$38.00+30.72%
8/4/2025Morgan Stanley
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Lower TargetEqual Weight$33.00 ➝ $28.00+4.64%
7/29/2025JPMorgan Chase & Co.
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Lower TargetNeutral$48.00 ➝ $30.00+13.79%
7/28/2025UBS Group
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Lower TargetNeutral$45.00 ➝ $31.00+15.37%
7/28/2025Oppenheimer
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Lower TargetOutperform$51.00 ➝ $43.00+55.23%
7/25/2025Robert W. Baird
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Lower TargetNeutral$68.00 ➝ $28.00+4.80%
7/23/2025Wells Fargo & Company
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DowngradeOverweightEqual Weight$72.00 ➝ $30.00+7.72%
7/21/2025TD Cowen
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Reiterated RatingBuyHold$73.00 ➝ $33.00+18.07%
7/16/2025Bank of America
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DowngradeNeutralUnderperform$52.00 ➝ $30.00
7/11/2025Mizuho
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Lower TargetNeutral$71.00 ➝ $40.00+26.10%
4/29/2025Jefferies Financial Group
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Lower TargetHold$64.00 ➝ $61.00+2.98%
4/29/2025Guggenheim
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Reiterated RatingNeutral
2/6/2025Argus
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DowngradeBuyHold
12/13/2024Stephens
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 Lower TargetEqual Weight$75.00 ➝ $73.00+22.09%
8/2/2024Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft
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 Boost TargetHold$82.00 ➝ $87.00+11.80%
5/30/2024Baird R W
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UpgradeHold

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Friday at 10:43 AM 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, September 11, 2025. Please send any questions or comments about these Centene pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Centene
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

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

  • The current stock price is around $34.15, reflecting a recent increase of 9.2%, which may indicate positive market sentiment towards the company.
  • Centene Co. reported a significant revenue increase of 22.4% year-over-year, showcasing strong growth potential and operational efficiency.
  • The company has a market capitalization of approximately $16.77 billion, indicating a solid position in the healthcare sector, which can attract institutional investors.
  • Centene Co. has a relatively low P/E ratio of 8.45, suggesting that the stock may be undervalued compared to its earnings, potentially offering a good entry point for investors.
  • Recent insider purchases, including those by the CEO, demonstrate confidence in the company's future performance, which can be a positive signal for potential investors.

Centene
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

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

  • The company reported a loss of ($0.16) earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations, which may raise concerns about its profitability in the short term.
  • Centene Co. has a relatively low net margin of 1.15%, indicating that it retains a small portion of its revenue as profit, which could limit growth opportunities.
  • The stock has experienced significant volatility, with a 1-year high of $77.29 and a low of $25.08, suggesting potential risks for investors looking for stability.
  • Insider ownership is only 0.36%, which may indicate a lack of alignment between management and shareholders, potentially affecting decision-making.
  • The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, which, while manageable, indicates that it relies on debt financing, posing risks if market conditions change.

CNC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 17 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Centene is $38.33, with a high forecast of $73.00 and a low forecast of $28.00.

17 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Centene in the last twelve months. There is currently 1 sell rating, 13 hold ratings and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "hold" CNC shares. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in CNC, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

According to analysts, Centene's stock has a predicted upside of 12.32% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Centene's stock had 4 downgrades by analysts.

Analysts like Centene less than other "medical" companies. The consensus rating for Centene is Hold while the average consensus rating for "medical" companies is Moderate Buy. Learn more on how CNC compares to other companies.


This page (NYSE:CNC) was last updated on 9/12/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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