NYSE: CNC

Centene (CNC) Stock Analysis & Forecast

Nov 4 close

$76.01+8.53 (+12.6%)

Gekko Brief

AI summaryNov 4 close

Centene shares surged this week, closing at $76.01 on Wednesday with a 12.6% gain, outperforming the broader market as the S&P 500 rose 1.58% and the Dow gained 3.03% on the same session. The move followed election results confirming Democrats reclaimed majorities in the House and Senate, a development that lifted shares across healthcare names including GoodRx, Evolent Health, and HCA Healthcare alongside Centene. This followed a pullback on Monday, when the stock fell 2.80% to $66.53. Separately, Truist Financial maintained its Buy rating on Centene and raised its target price to $82.

The stock trades above both its 50-day average of $66.39 and 200-day average of $55.71, with the shorter-term average sitting above the longer-term one, consistent with an established uptrend. The GekkoIndex reading sits at 46.5, placing the stock in the Neutral zone. Despite the recent rally, price remains 13.6% below the Gekko Fair Value of $87.99, a gap that has narrowed from the prior week's reading.

Centene's next earnings report is scheduled for 5 February 2027, 92 days out, placing it outside a typical 20-trading-day holding window. No insider, Congress, or unusual options activity appears in the current windows. Seasonality data covering five years shows the next 20 trading days averaging a 1.9% gain from this point in the calendar, with gains in 3 of those years. Analyst consensus across 14 firms stands at 6 buy and 8 hold ratings, with a consensus target of $74.50.

Written by AI from the Nov 4, 2026 close and checked automatically against the figures on this page.

Centene price vs fair value

$87.99$76.01Nov ’25May ’26Nov ’26
Close $76.01200-day averageGekko Fair Value $87.99

Centene quick facts

Market cap
$37.63B
P/E ratio
23.5
Forward P/E
12.4
EPS, TTM
$2.91
Revenue, TTM
$180.4B
Profit margin
0.8%
Dividend yield
—
Beta
1.13
Volume
14.97M avg 5.34M
1-year return
+120.3%
Typical daily move
±4.5%
Typical 20-day move
±5.9%
50-day average
$66.39
200-day average
$55.71
Next earnings
Feb 5 before open
Shares outstanding
495.1M
52-week range
$31.63$77.05

Centene swing-trade checklist

Centene scores 4 supportive, 1 mixed and 0 headwinds across the 5 checklist items with data.

Six things swing traders check before a 20-day hold, read from the latest data.

4 supportive1 mixed0 headwinds

  • Trendsupportive

    Above 50 and 200-day

    Close $76.01 is above the 50-day ($66.39) and 200-day ($55.71) averages, and the 50-day is above the 200-day.

    See the chart
  • GekkoIndexmixed

    46.5, Neutral

    Reading 46.5 is in the Neutral zone.

    See the GekkoIndex
  • Fair valuesupportive

    13.6% below

    Price is 13.6% below Gekko Fair Value (more than 5% below).

    See fair value
  • Smart moneyno data

    No data

    No insider, Congress or unusual options activity in the window.

    See smart money
  • Earnings risksupportive

    Reports in 92 days

    Next report Feb 5, 2027, 92 days away — outside a typical 20-trading-day hold.

    See earnings
  • Seasonalitysupportive

    +1.9% on average

    From this point in the calendar, the next 20 trading days averaged +1.9% over 5 years, rising in 3 of them.

    See seasonality

A description of current data, not a recommendation. How this page works

Centene stock chart and price history

Centene closed at $76.01 on Nov 4, 2026, +120.3% over the past year, inside a 52-week range of $31.63 to $77.05.

Close50-day average200-day averageVolume
Centene share price, past year, with 50-day and 200-day moving averages and volume$30$40$50$60$70DecJan 2026FebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOct76.01

Use the left and right arrow keys to read daily values.

Performance Breakdown

1 month
+17.6%
3 months
+18.4%
6 months
+37.4%
1 year
+120.3%
The full CNC chart adds GekkoIndex, insider, options, Congress and hedge fund markers, plus TrendCandles™.Open CNC in Gekko

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About Centene

Centene provides managed care programs and services aimed at under-insured families and commercial organizations across the United States. It is known for administering health coverage tied to government assistance programs, alongside offerings for individuals and employer groups, making it a point of access to healthcare products, prescription drug plans, and related medical services.

The company is structured into four segments. Its Medicaid segment covers programs such as needy family assistance, Medicaid expansion, coverage for aged, blind, or disabled individuals, children's health insurance, long-term care support, foster care, and combined Medicare-Medicaid plans, along with broader healthcare products. The Medicare segment handles special needs plans, supplement plans, and prescription drug coverage. The Commercial segment supplies marketplace health insurance for individuals and groups, while the Other segment runs clinical care operations, pharmacies, vision, dental, behavioral health, and centralized support services. Care is delivered through networks of primary and specialty physicians, hospitals, behavioral health practitioners, and other ancillary providers.

Centene was founded in 1984 and is based in Saint Louis, Missouri. Its shares are listed on the NYSE under the ticker CNC.

Listed
NYSE
Sector
Health services
Industry
Managed health care
Website
centene.com

Centene GekkoIndex: the smart money zone

Centene’s GekkoIndex — Gekko’s 0 to 100 smart money score — reads 46.5, in the Neutral zone, down 11.6 points over five sessions.

010046.5Neutral

Down 11.6 points over five sessions.

Reading for Nov 4, 2026

What followed past readings in each zone

ZoneReadings5 days10 days20 days50 days
Buying60−1.5%−2.0%+1.0%+21.5%
Accumulation227+0.5%+0.2%−0.3%−2.5%
Neutral (current zone)376+0.2%+0.8%+1.6%+2.1%
Distribution29+0.7%+0.5%+0.5%−2.9%
Selling5Too few readings yet

Average CNC share-price change over the trading days after each daily reading in its GekkoIndex history. Across every stock Gekko tracks, Neutral readings averaged +1.0% over 20 days. Past behaviour doesn’t guarantee future results.

Neutral zone: No clear directional signal. About the five zones →

See every daily GekkoIndex reading plotted over the CNC price, zone by zone.Track CNC in Gekko

Is Centene stock overvalued? Gekko Fair Value

Centene trades 13.6% below Gekko Fair Value of $87.99, so the shares are undervalued on Gekko’s estimate.

Gekko’s own estimate of what Centene shares are worth, recalculated every trading day.

$87.99

Gekko Fair Value, Nov 3, 2026

13.6% Undervalued

At the end of Aug 2026 the price was 27.0% below the estimate.

Gekko Fair ValueShare price, month end
$88$67Aug 2026SepOctNov 2026

How Gekko Fair Value works →

Gekko Fair Value on every chart, with the gap to price updating daily.Open CNC in Gekko

Centene insider and Congress trading

No open-market insider purchases were filed for Centene, and no Congress trades were disclosed, in the last 90 days.

Plus buybacks, unusual options and fund positions, each dated to when it became public.

Insider buying last 90 days

No open-market insider purchases were filed for CNC in the last 90 days.

From Form 4 filings, dated to when each was filed.

Every CNC insider filing, plotted on the chart in Gekko.Open CNC in Gekko

Congress trades last 90 days

No trades in CNC were disclosed by members of Congress in the last 90 days.

From congressional disclosures, which report amounts as ranges.

Congress disclosures for CNC, plotted on the chart in Gekko.Open CNC in Gekko

Buybacks

Centene has been buying back its own shares.

Bought back, quarter ended Sep 30, 2026
$24.00M
As a share of market cap
0.06%
Trailing four quarters
$59.00M

From company filings.

Hedge funds and billionaires quarter ended Jun 30

2of the funds Gekko tracks hold CNC.

0added0opened2trimmed1sold out
Which funds are on each side, name by name.Unlock in Gekko

Centene earnings: next date and track record

Centene reports on Feb 5, 2027, before the open (92 days away), and beat the EPS estimate in 6 of its last 8 reports.

6 of 8reports beat the EPS estimate
±6%average move across the report
3 of 8reports followed by a gain

Share-price move across each report

0.0%Oct ’24−6.3%Feb ’25−3.4%Apr ’25+0.4%Jul ’25+5.5%Oct ’25−4.7%Feb ’26+24.1%Apr ’26−3.5%Jul ’26

Last earnings call, Jul 28, 2026 AI summary

What they said
Centene's Q2 2026 earnings call highlighted a strong quarter with premium and service revenue of $44.4 billion and adjusted diluted EPS of $2.51, which beat prior expectations. Management raised full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance to greater than $4.80 (from greater than $3.40), driven by underlying business strength and favorable marketplace and Medicare risk adjustment settlements in the quarter. Consolidated HBR improved to 89.6% in Q2 (down from 93% in Q2 2025). Medicaid results were broadly in line with expectations with disciplined execution, though membership attrition was slightly larger than expected (ending Q2 at ~12.1 million). Major cost drivers remain behavioral health, home health, and high-cost drugs, but management cited progress in behavioral health management and payment integrity. Rates (7/1 cohort) came in better than expected, lifting full-year composite rate forecast from ~4.5% to ~5%. Management reiterated multi-year margin restoration efforts, enterprise optimization initiatives (including SG&A controls, workforce actions), and targeted AI/data investments focused on high-ROI use cases. They noted certain nonrecurring favorable items amounting to roughly $0.50 of EPS in Q2 tied to 2025 settlements that are not expected to recur in 2027. The company expressed constructive state conversations on rates but flagged policy headwinds tied to OB3/work requirement-related actions, potential enrollment impacts, and ongoing legal uncertainty in the ACA marketplace.
Guidance
Raised full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS to > $4.80 (up from > $3.40). Full-year Medicaid HBR expected around 93.5% (previous 93.7%); consolidated HBR Q2 was 89.6%. Full-year composite rate impact now expected ~5% (up from ~4.5%). Exchange/Marketplace pretax margin guidance improved to 4.5%-5% (midpoint 4.75%). PDP expected >3% margin. Management noted approximately $0.50 of Q2 EPS was linked to 2025 settlements unlikely to recur in 2027 and flagged this as a reconciling item for future year bridging.
Risks flagged
Membership attrition (notably expansion population) and higher acuity among remaining members; policy and regulatory uncertainty related to OB3/work requirements, provider tax reform, and waiver/budget neutrality changes; litigation and legal uncertainties in the ACA marketplace; potential revenue reconciliation/eligibility verification impacts; nonrecurring settlement-driven EPS items that may not repeat in 2027.
ReportedEPSSurpriseRevenueSurpriseMove
Jul 28, 2026$2.51
est $0.89
+182.0%$53.58B
est $47.64B
+12.5%−3.5%
Apr 28, 2026$0.00
est $2.18
−100.0%——+24.1%
Feb 6, 2026−$1.19
est −$1.22
+2.5%$49.73B
est $48.41B
+2.7%−4.7%
Oct 29, 2025$0.50
est −$0.14
+445.4%$49.69B
est $47.72B
+4.1%+5.5%
Jul 25, 2025−$0.16
est $0.11
−243.4%$48.74B
est $44.14B
+10.4%+0.4%
Apr 25, 2025$2.90
est $2.52
+15.1%$46.62B
est $42.76B
+9.0%−3.4%
Feb 4, 2025$0.80
est $0.49
+63.3%$40.81B
est $39.36B
+3.7%−6.3%
Oct 25, 2024$1.62
est $1.41
+14.9%$42.02B
est $37.93B
+10.8%0.0%

“Move” is the close of the first session after the report compared with the close of the last session before it, so it reads the same whether the company reported before the open or after the close.

Centene stock forecast and analyst price targets

Analysts’ average 12-month price target for Centene is $74.50, −2.0% from the last close, from 14 firms rating the stock in the last 90 days.

$74.50consensus 12-month target, −2.0% from the last close
Low $65High $82
Buy6
Hold8
Sell0

Each firm’s latest rating in the last 90 days: 14 firms.

Latest analyst actions

DateFirmRatingTargetvs price
Nov 2Truist FinancialBuy, maintained$82+7.9%
Oct 30Wells FargoHold, reiterated$75−1.3%
Oct 29TD CowenHold, maintained$65−14.5%
Oct 29J.P. MorganHold, maintained$75−1.3%
Oct 28Morgan StanleyHold, reiterated$71−6.6%
+1.6%average 20-day move after past Neutral readings
+1.9%average move over the next 20 trading days in the last 5 years
±4.5%typical daily move, from the 14-day average range

Gekko doesn’t publish price predictions. These are analyst targets and historical base rates, which don’t guarantee future results.

Centene seasonality: the next 20 trading days

Over the next 20 trading days from Nov 4, Centene averaged +1.9% across the last 5 years, rising in 3 of them.

Next 20 trading days, by year

−3.7%2021+5.7%2022+4.4%2023−6.9%2024+7.5%2025

Average move and hit rate

WindowAverageYears higher
Next 5 trading days−0.1%3 of 5
Next 10 trading days+0.5%4 of 5
Next 15 trading days+3.4%4 of 5
Next 20 trading days+1.9%3 of 5
Next 30 trading days+3.7%3 of 5

For scale, CNC’s typical 20-trading-day move in either direction is about 5.9%.

Centene market cap and key statistics

Centene’s market cap is $37.63B, with a P/E ratio of 23.5 and revenue of $180.4B over the last twelve months.

Valuation

Market cap
$37.63B
P/E ratio
23.5
Forward P/E
12.4
EPS, TTM
$2.91
Gekko Fair Value
$87.99

Trading

Volume
14.97M
Avg volume, 20 days
5.34M
52-week high
$77.05
52-week low
$31.63
Shares outstanding
495.1M

Financials

Revenue, TTM
$180.4B
Profit margin
0.8%
Return on equity
6.7%
Quarterly earnings growth, YoY
+18.3%

Risk and income

Beta
1.13
Typical daily move
±4.5%
Typical 20-day move
±5.9%

Centene peers

Centene’s 6 largest industry peers by market value, with today’s move, GekkoIndex zone and gap to Gekko Fair Value.

StockTodayGekkoIndex zonevs Fair Value
UNHUnitedHealth+3.2%Neutral9.7% above
ELVElevance Health+3.1%Neutral31.6% below
CICigna+1.1%Neutral33.1% below
HUMHumana+0.7%Neutral22.1% below
MOHMolina Healthcare+2.9%Neutral34.2% below
OSCROscar Health−1.2%Neutral4.8% above

A peer links to its own page where one exists.

In the Buying zone today

Reporting earnings this week

Popular on Gekko

More stocks in Managed health care

Centene stock FAQ

What is Centene’s market cap?

Centene’s market cap is $37.63B at the Nov 4, 2026 close of $76.01, with 495.1M shares outstanding. The shares trade on a P/E ratio of 23.5.

What is the Centene stock forecast?

The consensus analyst 12-month price target for Centene is $74.50, −2.0% from the last close. Of the 14 firms that rated the stock in the last 90 days, 6 rate it a buy, 8 a hold and 0 a sell. Gekko doesn’t publish price predictions of its own.

Is Centene stock overvalued or undervalued?

On Gekko’s estimate Centene is undervalued: the Nov 4, 2026 close of $76.01 is 13.6% below Gekko Fair Value of $87.99. Gekko Fair Value is recalculated every trading day, and a gap inside 5% either way counts as about fair value.

When does Centene report earnings next?

Centene is expected to report on Feb 5, 2027, before the market opens (92 days away). Analysts expect earnings of −$1.14 per share on revenue of $46.28B. Centene beat the earnings estimate in 6 of its last 8 reports, moving 6% on average across the report.

What is Centene’s 52-week high and low?

Centene’s 52-week high is $77.05 and its 52-week low is $31.63; it closed at $76.01 on Nov 4, 2026, +120.3% over the past year. Over the last five years the shares peaked at $98.53 on Aug 15, 2022.

Is Centene stock a buy right now?

Gekko describes the data; it does not make buy or sell recommendations. On the swing-trade checklist, 4 of the 5 items with data read as supportive (trend, fair value, earnings risk and seasonality), 1 as mixed (gekkoindex). The checklist is a description of current data, not a recommendation.

How this page works

During US trading hours the price at the top of the page is a delayed quote, refreshed every 15 minutes; everything else is rebuilt after each US market close. The GekkoIndex, Gekko Fair Value and the checklist are Gekko’s own, and the Gekko Brief is written by AI from this page’s data and checked against it before it is published. How Gekko’s data works →

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