Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price Target Raised at Wells Fargo & Company

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Centene from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.60.

Centene Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE CNC opened at $68.42 on Friday. Centene has a 12 month low of $31.63 and a 12 month high of $72.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $33.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $50.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.12 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 0.72%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Centene will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Key Centene News

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise price targets. Wells Fargo lifted its target from $69 to $75 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating. JPMorgan also raised its target from $67 to $75, and UBS increased its target from $70 to $78. These revisions suggest analysts see additional value after Centene’s earnings update, even though the ratings remain cautious. Wells Fargo analyst update JPMorgan analyst update UBS analyst update
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results and higher guidance support the stock. Centene exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, and its quarterly revenue increased year over year. The company’s guidance increase reinforces expectations for improved profitability and prompted additional analyst optimism. Centene Q3 earnings and guidance Centene guidance increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings remain restrained. Wells Fargo and UBS retain “equal weight” or “neutral” recommendations, indicating that the higher targets reflect moderate appreciation potential rather than a strong conviction that CNC is significantly undervalued. Centene analyst price target update
• Negative Sentiment: Membership pressure remains a key risk. Coverage has highlighted lingering membership challenges and uncertainty over whether Centene can maintain a stable health benefits ratio. These issues could offset the benefit of stronger earnings and guidance if they pressure margins or future revenue growth. Centene membership pressures Centene health benefits ratio analysis

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.