Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Q: What analysts cover Centene?

Centene has been rated by research analysts at Argus , Barclays , Cantor Fitzgerald , 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.

$66.00 +1.94 (+3.03%)

As of 12:13 PM Eastern

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

Consensus Rating

Hold

Based on 20 Analyst Ratings

Sell
2

Hold
9

Buy
9

Based on 20 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 20 analysts, 2 have given a sell rating, 9 have given a hold rating, 8 have given a buy rating, and 1 has given a strong buy rating for CNC.

Consensus Price Target

$70.05
6.14% Upside

According to the 20 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 6.14% from the current price of $66.00.

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 9/10/25 to 9/10/26	1 Month Ago 8/11/25 to 8/11/26	3 Months Ago 6/12/25 to 6/12/26	1 Year Ago 9/10/24 to 9/10/25
Strong Buy	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	8 Buy rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)
Hold	9 Hold rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	9 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	$69.15	$60.24	$37.93
Forecasted Upside	6.14% Upside	6.56% Upside	-7.58% Downside	21.25% 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	2.40	2.30	2.53
Consensus Rating	Hold	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	9.16% Upside	921.33% Upside	16.48% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent CNC News	Positive 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
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 3 of 5 stars	John Staszak 2 of 5 stars	Upgrade	Hold ➝ Buy	$80.00	+20.28%
8/4/2026	JPMorgan Chase & Co. 3 of 5 stars	John Stansel Not Rated	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
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)
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.
7/14/2026	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%
7/7/2026	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	Boost Target	Overweight	$60.00 ➝ $75.00	+13.60%
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 12:13 PM 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 8, 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 delivered a significant earnings surprise, reporting $2.51 in earnings per share for the quarter, which beat the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42, indicating stronger-than-expected profitability and operational efficiency.
The company's revenue reached $53.58 billion for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $47.64 billion, demonstrating robust demand for its managed care services and successful execution in its Medicaid and Medicare segments.
Centene Co. has received a "Strong Buy" rating from Zacks Research, which recently raised its outlook from "hold," signaling that analysts see substantial upside potential and improved fundamental trends in the stock.
With the current stock price at $64.56, the shares are trading below the consensus price target of $70.05, suggesting that the market may be undervaluing the company's recent performance and future growth prospects.
Institutional interest is growing, as evidenced by the Saudi Central Bank increasing its holdings by 89.7% in the second quarter, which can provide stability and confidence to the stock's price action.

Centene
Bear Case

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

The company has a negative P/E ratio of -6.18, which indicates that it is currently reporting net losses on a trailing basis, a factor that can deter value-oriented investors and signal ongoing financial challenges.
Despite recent earnings beats, the overall consensus rating from analysts remains "Hold," with nine analysts issuing a Hold rating compared to eight Buy ratings, reflecting a divided opinion on the stock's long-term investment merit.
Centene Co. has a high beta of 1.10, meaning the stock is more volatile than the overall market, which can lead to larger price swings and higher risk for investors seeking stability.
The company's net margin is negative at 2.51%, suggesting that it is spending more than it is earning on a net basis, which could limit its ability to generate consistent cash flow and dividends for shareholders.
Short interest remains elevated with 13.27 million shares shorted, representing about 2.7% of the float, indicating that a significant portion of the market is betting against the stock's future performance.

CNC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 20 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.

20 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Centene in the last year. There are currently 2 sell ratings, 9 hold ratings, 8 buy ratings and 1 strong buy rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities 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 6.14% 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, 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 2.40 while the average consensus rating score for "healthcare" companies is 2.30. Learn more on how CNC compares to other companies.

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MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Centene analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 8/18/2026.

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Centene (CNC) Stock Forecast & Price Target