Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$35.30 -0.34 (-0.97%)

Closing price 10/17/2025 03:59 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$35.34 +0.04 (+0.12%)

As of 10/17/2025 07:49 PM Eastern

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

Consensus Rating

Hold

Based on 19 Analyst Ratings

Sell
3

Hold
13

Buy
3

Based on 19 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 19 analysts, 3 have given a sell rating, 13 have given a hold rating, and 3 have given a buy rating for CNC.

Consensus Price Target

$39.50
11.91% Upside

According to the 19 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Centene, the average price target is $39.50. 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 11.91% from the current price of $35.30.

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

Type	Current Forecast 10/18/24 to 10/18/25	1 Month Ago 9/18/24 to 9/18/25	3 Months Ago 7/20/24 to 7/20/25	1 Year Ago 10/19/23 to 10/18/24
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)	6 Buy rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)
Hold	13 Hold rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)
Sell	3 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$39.50	$38.33	$58.63	$85.58
Forecasted Upside	11.91% Upside	19.05% Upside	109.75% Upside	37.98% Upside
Consensus Rating	Hold	Hold	Hold	Hold

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.

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.

Centene Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Centene	Medical Companies	S&P 500
Consensus Rating Score	2.00	2.33	2.52
Consensus Rating	Hold	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	11.91% Upside	1,356.33% Upside	13.61% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent CNC News	Neutral News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export to Excel

Date	Brokerage	Analyst	Action	Rating	Price Target	Report Date Upside/Downside
10/14/2025	Truist Financial 3 of 5 stars	Ryan MacDonald Not Rated	Set Target		$42.00	+16.55%
10/14/2025	The Goldman Sachs Group 3 of 5 stars	Scott Fidel Not Rated	Initiated Coverage	Neutral ➝ Sell	$33.00	-9.30%
10/14/2025	Morgan Stanley 3 of 5 stars	Ricky Goldwasser 3 of 5 stars	Boost Target	Equal Weight	$28.00 ➝ $38.00	+5.01%
10/9/2025	Mizuho Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Ann Hynes Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Neutral	$28.00 ➝ $40.00	+4.06%
10/8/2025	Weiss Ratings Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Sell (D)
10/7/2025	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Stephen Baxter Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target	Equal Weight	$30.00 ➝ $41.00	+8.87%
9/12/2025	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Andrew Mok Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Equal Weight	$33.00 ➝ $35.00	+2.49%
9/5/2025	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Lance Wilkes Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Outperform	$40.00 ➝ $36.00	+25.68%
8/26/2025	Cantor Fitzgerald Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Sarah James Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Neutral	$38.00	+30.72%
7/29/2025	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	John Stansel Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Neutral	$48.00 ➝ $30.00	+13.79%
Get the Latest News and Ratings for CNC and Related Stocks Enter your email address below to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Centene and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
7/28/2025	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	A.J. Rice Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Neutral	$45.00 ➝ $31.00	+15.37%
7/28/2025	Oppenheimer Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Michael Wiederhorn Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Outperform	$51.00 ➝ $43.00	+55.23%
7/25/2025	Robert W. Baird Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Michael Ha Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Neutral	$68.00 ➝ $28.00	+4.80%
7/21/2025	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Ryan Langston Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Buy ➝ Hold	$73.00 ➝ $33.00	+18.07%
7/16/2025	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Kevin Fischbeck Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Neutral ➝ Underperform	$52.00 ➝ $30.00
4/29/2025	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	David Windley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Hold	$64.00 ➝ $61.00	+2.98%
4/29/2025	Guggenheim Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	J. Cassorla Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Neutral
2/6/2025	Argus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	J. Staszak Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold
12/13/2024	Stephens Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Equal Weight	$75.00 ➝ $73.00	+22.09%
8/2/2024	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Hold	$82.00 ➝ $87.00	+11.80%
5/30/2024	Baird R W Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	M. Ha Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Hold

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Saturday at 08:04 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 Monday, October 13, 2025. Please send any questions or comments about these Centene pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Centene
Bull Case

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

The current stock price is around $38, which may present a buying opportunity for investors looking for value in the healthcare sector.
Recent insider buying activity, including significant purchases by the CEO and a director, suggests confidence in the company's future performance.
Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price around $39, indicating potential for price appreciation based on market expectations.
Centene Co. has a relatively low price-to-earnings ratio, which may indicate that the stock is undervalued compared to its earnings potential.
The company has shown resilience with a market capitalization of approximately $19 billion, indicating stability and a solid position in the healthcare market.

Centene
Bear Case

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

Recent price target reductions by multiple analysts, including a significant cut from $71 to $40, may signal concerns about the company's growth prospects.
With a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, there are potential risks associated with the company's leverage, which could impact financial stability.
The stock has experienced significant volatility, with a 52-week range indicating a high of $73.50 and a low of $25.08, reflecting uncertainty in market sentiment.
Thirteen analysts have assigned a "Hold" rating, suggesting that many see limited upside potential in the near term.
Recent performance has shown a decline, with the stock dropping significantly over the past year, which may deter risk-averse investors.

CNC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

: According to the research reports of 19 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Centene is $39.50, with a high forecast of $73.00 and a low forecast of $28.00.
: 19 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Centene in the last year. There are currently 3 sell ratings, 13 hold ratings and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research 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 11.91% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.
: Over the previous 90 days, Centene's stock had 2 downgrades by analysts.
: Centene has been rated by research analysts at Barclays, Cantor Fitzgerald, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, Robert W. Baird, Sanford C. Bernstein, TD Cowen, The Goldman Sachs Group, Truist Financial, UBS Group, Weiss Ratings, and Wells Fargo & Company in the past 90 days.
: Analysts like Centene less than other "medical" companies. The consensus rating score for Centene is 2.00 while the average consensus rating score for "medical" companies is 2.33. Learn more on how CNC compares to other companies.

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This page (NYSE:CNC) was last updated on 10/18/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

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

Consensus Rating

Consensus Price Target

CNC Analyst Ratings Over Time

CNC Analyst Recommendations By Month

CNC Price Targets by Month

Centene Stock vs. The Competition

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Should I Buy Centene Stock? CNC Pros and Cons Explained

Centene
Bull Case

Centene
Bear Case

CNC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

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Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

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

Consensus Rating

Consensus Price Target

CNC Analyst Ratings Over Time

CNC Analyst Recommendations By Month

CNC Price Targets by Month

Centene Stock vs. The Competition

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Should I Buy Centene Stock? CNC Pros and Cons Explained

Centene Bull Case

Centene Bear Case

CNC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

Stock Forecasts and Research Tools

MarketBeat All Access Features

Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring

Stock Ideas and Recommendations

Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools

Centene
Bull Case

Centene
Bear Case