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Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Centene logo
$38.71 +1.89 (+5.14%)
Closing price 10/3/2025 03:59 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$39.02 +0.31 (+0.80%)
As of 07:07 AM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more.

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

Consensus Rating

Sell
2
Hold
13
Buy
3

Based on 18 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 18 analysts, 2 have given a sell rating, 13 have given a hold rating, and 3 have given a buy rating for CNC.

Consensus Price Target

$38.33
-0.98% Downside
According to the 18 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 downside of -0.98% from the current price of $38.71.
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
10/6/24 to 10/6/25
1 Month Ago
9/6/24 to 9/6/25
3 Months Ago
7/8/24 to 7/8/25
1 Year Ago
10/7/23 to 10/6/24
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)
7 Buy rating(s)
6 Buy rating(s)
Hold
13 Hold rating(s)
13 Hold rating(s)
10 Hold rating(s)
7 Hold rating(s)
Sell
2 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$38.33$37.93$68.87$85.58
Forecasted Upside-0.98% Downside30.96% Upside111.38% Upside18.73% Upside
Consensus RatingHoldHoldHoldHold

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
2.06
2.33
2.51
Consensus RatingHoldHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside-0.98% Downside1,395.17% Upside10.49% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent CNC News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
9/27/2025Weiss Ratings
0 of 5 stars
 Reiterated RatingSell (D)
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
Ryan MacDonald
Not Rated
Boost TargetBuy$35.00 ➝ $39.00+14.20%
9/5/2025Sanford C. Bernstein
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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 Monday at 06:56 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 Friday, October 3, 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 $31.77, which may present a buying opportunity given its recent trading volume significantly exceeding the average.
  • Centene Co. reported a substantial revenue increase of 22.4% year-over-year, indicating strong growth potential and demand for its services.
  • The company has a relatively low price-to-earnings ratio, suggesting that the stock may be undervalued compared to its earnings, which could attract value investors.
  • With a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, Centene Co. maintains a manageable level of debt, which can be a positive indicator of financial stability.
  • Insider buying activity, including recent purchases by the CEO, suggests confidence in the company's future performance, which can be a positive signal for investors.

Centene
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

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

  • The company recently reported earnings per share that missed consensus estimates, which may raise concerns about its short-term profitability.
  • Centene Co. has a relatively low net margin of 1.15%, indicating that it retains a smaller portion of revenue as profit, which could limit growth potential.
  • With a beta of 0.44, the stock is less volatile than the market, which may not appeal to investors seeking high-risk, high-reward opportunities.
  • The stock has experienced significant fluctuations, with a 12-month high of $76.08 and a low of $25.08, indicating potential instability.
  • Corporate insiders own only 0.36% of the company's stock, which may suggest a lack of alignment between management and shareholder interests.

CNC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 18 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.

18 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Centene in the last year. There are currently 2 sell ratings, 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 downside of -0.98% 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 score for Centene is 2.06 while the average consensus rating score for "medical" companies is 2.33. Learn more on how CNC compares to other companies.


This page (NYSE:CNC) was last updated on 10/6/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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