Centene (NYSE:CNC) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Posted by Geri Gentry on Jun 8th, 2026

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $52.00 to $60.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Centene traded as high as $64.30 and last traded at $64.6770, with a volume of 1632332 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $62.33.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on CNC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $47.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.24.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CNC

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Oracle Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the third quarter valued at about $3,936,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 451.2% during the third quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 181,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,490,000 after buying an additional 148,900 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 22.1% in the third quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,356,000 after purchasing an additional 194,300 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 161.1% in the third quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 91,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,281,000 after purchasing an additional 56,730 shares during the period. Finally, Kennondale Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 500.0% during the third quarter. Kennondale Capital Management LLC now owns 48,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after buying an additional 40,815 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.