Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Q: What analysts cover Centene?

Centene has been rated by research analysts at Argus , Barclays , Cantor Fitzgerald , HC Wainwright , JPMorgan Chase & Co. , Morgan Stanley , Raymond James Financial , Robert W. Baird , Royal Bank Of Canada , Sanford C. Bernstein , Stifel Nicolaus , TD Cowen , Truist Financial , UBS Group , Weiss Ratings , Wells Fargo & Company , and Zacks Research in the past 90 days.

$61.97 -1.33 (-2.11%)

Closing price 09/23/2026 03:59 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$62.22 +0.25 (+0.40%)

As of 08:28 AM Eastern

Compare

Centene - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Hold

Based on 21 Analyst Ratings

Sell
2

Hold
9

Buy
10

Based on 21 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 21 analysts, 2 have given a sell rating, 9 have given a hold rating, 9 have given a buy rating, and 1 has given a strong buy rating for CNC.

Consensus Price Target

$70.05
13.04% Upside

According to the 21 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Centene, the average price target is $70.05. The highest price target for CNC is $80.00, while the lowest price target for CNC is $40.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 13.04% from the current price of $61.97.

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.

Get the Latest News and Ratings for CNC and Related Stocks

Enter your email address to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Centene and its competitors.

SMS is currently available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By entering your phone number and clicking the sign-up button, you agree to receive periodic text messages from MarketBeat at the phone number you submitted, including texts that may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency will vary. Messages will consist of stock alerts, news stories, and partner advertisements/offers. Consent is not a condition of the purchase of any goods or services. Text HELP for help/customer support. Unsubscribe at any time by replying "STOP" to any text message that you receive from MarketBeat or by visiting our mailing preferences page. Read our full terms of service and privacy policy.

CNC Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 9/24/25 to 9/24/26	1 Month Ago 8/25/25 to 8/25/26	3 Months Ago 6/26/25 to 6/26/26	1 Year Ago 9/24/24 to 9/24/25
Strong Buy	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	9 Buy rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)
Hold	9 Hold rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)
Sell	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$70.05	$70.05	$60.78	$38.33
Forecasted Upside	13.04% Upside	7.90% Upside	-7.48% Downside	10.44% 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	Healthcare Companies	Broader Market
Consensus Rating Score	2.43	2.31	2.53
Consensus Rating	Hold	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	13.04% Upside	721.89% Upside	18.87% 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

Date	Brokerage	Analyst	Action	Rating	Price Target	Report Date Upside/Downside
9/11/2026	HC Wainwright 4 of 5 stars		Reiterated Rating	Buy
9/11/2026	Cantor Fitzgerald 5 of 5 stars	Sarah James 3 of 5 stars	Reiterated Rating	Overweight
8/18/2026	UBS Group 4 of 5 stars	A.J. Rice 4 of 5 stars	Set Target		$79.00	+20.78%
8/11/2026	Argus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	John Staszak Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Hold ➝ Buy	$80.00	+20.28%
8/4/2026	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	Boost Target	Neutral	$60.00 ➝ $67.00	+4.48%
8/3/2026	Stifel Nicolaus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Set Target		$79.00	+26.95%
8/3/2026	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	Reiterated Rating	Outperform	$68.00 ➝ $79.00	+26.95%
7/29/2026	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Erin Wright Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target		$66.00	+7.20%
7/29/2026	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	Reiterated Rating	Overweight	$75.00 ➝ $80.00	+24.75%
7/29/2026	Zacks Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Hold ➝ Strong-Buy
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.
7/29/2026	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	Boost Target	Neutral	$46.00 ➝ $66.00	+2.92%
7/17/2026	Weiss Ratings Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Sell (D)
7/14/2026	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	Hold	$47.00 ➝ $65.00	-5.62%
7/14/2026	Truist Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	David MacDonald Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy	$71.00 ➝ $78.00	+13.38%
7/13/2026	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	$56.00 ➝ $69.00	+1.17%
7/9/2026	Royal Bank Of Canada Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Ben Hendrix Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Sector Perform	$70.00 ➝ $71.00	+6.05%
7/7/2026	Raymond James Financial 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	Set Target		$75.00	+12.44%
6/8/2026	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	Set Target	Neutral	$58.00 ➝ $63.00	+0.47%
6/4/2026	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	Boost Target	Buy	$72.00 ➝ $74.00	+18.12%
5/27/2026	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	Boost Target	Outperform	$58.00 ➝ $67.00	+12.22%
5/20/2026	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	George Hill Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Hold ➝ Buy	$53.00 ➝ $80.00	+35.20%
4/29/2026	The Goldman Sachs Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Sell	$40.00	-19.07%
4/29/2026	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	Boost Target	Hold	$39.00 ➝ $48.00	-2.88%
4/29/2025	Guggenheim Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jason Cassorla Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Neutral
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%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Thursday at 08:38 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 Tuesday, September 22, 2026. 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.:

Centene Co. recently reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted diluted earnings-per-share guidance of more than $4.80 at the Deutsche Bank Healthcare Summit, signaling management confidence in the company's ability to meet financial targets despite ongoing operational challenges.
The company demonstrated strong financial performance in the second quarter of 2026, reporting earnings per share of $2.51, which significantly exceeded the analyst consensus estimate of $1.09, indicating a substantial improvement in profitability compared to the same period in the prior year.
Centene Co. is currently trading at $65.08, a level that is near its 52-week high of $69.63, reflecting a significant recovery from its 52-week low of $31.63 and suggesting strong momentum and investor confidence in the stock's recent trajectory.
Wall Street analysts have shown increasing optimism, with the consensus price target rising to $70.05 as of late August 2026, and several firms, including Sanford C. Bernstein and Raymond James, issuing price targets above the current market price, indicating potential for further upside.
Institutional investors have been actively increasing their stakes in the company, with notable new positions and significant share purchases by entities such as Nykredit A S, Corient Private Wealth LP, and the Virginia Retirement Systems during the second quarter of 2026, suggesting strong institutional support.

Centene
Bear Case

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

Centene Co. expects Medicaid membership to decline by 9% by the end of 2026, a sharper drop than its earlier expectation of 6% to 8%, which could negatively impact revenue and operational scale due to states tightening eligibility processes ahead of work requirements.
The company has a negative P/E ratio of -6.23, indicating that it is currently reporting a net loss on a GAAP basis, which may concern investors seeking stable, positive earnings growth and could limit the stock's appeal to value-oriented portfolios.
Despite recent improvements, the company's net margin remains negative at 2.51% for the most recent quarter, suggesting that profitability is still fragile and may be sensitive to further cost pressures or membership declines in its core government-sponsored programs.
Corporate insiders have been selling shares, with General Counsel Christopher Koster selling a total of 104,103 shares in August 2026, which some investors may interpret as a lack of confidence in the stock's near-term potential or a desire to diversify personal holdings.
The stock has a beta of 1.10, indicating that it is slightly more volatile than the overall market, which could lead to larger price swings and higher risk for investors who prefer more stable, defensive holdings, especially in a volatile economic environment.

CNC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 21 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Centene is $70.05, with a high forecast of $80.00 and a low forecast of $40.00.

21 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Centene in the last twelve months. There are currently 2 sell ratings, 9 hold ratings, 9 buy ratings and 1 strong buy rating 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 13.04% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Centene's stock had 2 upgrades and 1 downgrade by analysts.

Centene has been rated by research analysts at Argus, Barclays, Cantor Fitzgerald, HC Wainwright, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Raymond James Financial, Robert W. Baird, Royal Bank Of Canada, Sanford C. Bernstein, Stifel Nicolaus, TD Cowen, Truist Financial, UBS Group, Weiss Ratings, Wells Fargo & Company, and Zacks Research in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Centene more than other "healthcare" companies. The consensus rating score for Centene is 2.43 while the average consensus rating score for "healthcare" companies is 2.31. Learn more on how CNC compares to other companies.

Stock Forecasts and Research Tools

Related Companies

Today's Analyst Ratings

Top-Rated Stocks

More Ratings Tools

Brokerages With Centene Recommendations

MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Centene analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 9/11/2026.

From Our Partners

Unlock superior investment research and tools.

Get MarketBeat All Access

In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies.
Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more.
Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter.

Sign In
Create Account

Your Email Address:

Your Password:

Forgot your password?

Your Email Address:

Choose a Password:

By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target