Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $38.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.97% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $44.00 price target on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.44.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $43.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Centene has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.03. The company has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of -3.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The firm had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Centene by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Centene by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

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.