Centene (CNC) stock rallied on Thursday after the healthcare company provided investors with a guidance update. The company reaffirmed its 2025 adjusted earnings per share outlook of $1.75, which would see it easily beat Wall Street’s estimate of $1.62 for the year. Traders will note the company reported adjusted EPS of $7.17 in 2024.
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Centene provided several other updates to investors today. Included in that was its strong financial performance over the past couple of months. The company also said it expects to be able to increase rates in 2026, leading to additional profits. Medicaid results over the past two months were also better than expected, and the company saw an increase in four-star Medicare Advantage plans.
In addition to this, Centene is taking part in the Deutsche Bank conference today. The company has already provided investors with updates as part of this event. Its presentation from this event is available on the company’s website.
Centene Stock Movement Today
Centene stock was up 12.57% on Thursday, but the shares were still down 41.96% year-to-date. The company’s stock has also fallen 58.21% over the past 12 months. Today’s trading volume is decent, with some 8.55 million shares exchanged, compared to a three-month daily average of about 14.74 million units.
2025 has been a tough year for Centene alongside high medical costs and reduced risk adjustment revenue. This resulted in the company reporting a loss in Q2 2025, its first quarterly loss in more than a decade.
Is Centene Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Centene is Hold, based on three Buy, 12 Hold, and a single Sell rating over the past three months. With that comes an average CNC stock price target of $34.58, representing a potential 1.79% downside for the shares.
