Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

06 Feb 2026, 18:21 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $39.92, but opened at $37.24. Centene shares last traded at $37.5860, with a volume of 1,700,182 shares trading hands.

More Centene News

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

Positive Sentiment: Centene issued 2026 adjusted EPS guidance at $3.00, above the consensus ~ $2.95, and management said costs are stabilizing — a signal that profitability trends could improve next year. Reuters: Centene sees 2026 profit above estimates
Neutral Sentiment: Centene highlighted community outreach (Health Net events tied to Super Bowl week) — positive PR but unlikely to move near-term fundamentals. PR Newswire: Health Net and Pro Football Hall of Fame events
Neutral Sentiment: Legislative developments (a proposed bill to expand no-cost-sharing mental-health benefits around pregnancy) could affect industry plan design over time; impact on Centene is possible but distant and uncertain. QuiverQuant: H.R.7227 summary
Negative Sentiment: Centene reported a fourth-quarter GAAP loss (more than $1B; $(1.19) EPS) despite beating revenue and the consensus EPS loss estimate — the swing to a large GAAP loss and continued elevated medical costs keep investor concern about earnings volatility and cash flow. Forbes: Centene reports $1 billion loss
Negative Sentiment: Key profitability metric: consolidated Health Benefit Ratio (HBR) was 94.3% in Q4 (Medicaid HBR 93.0%), indicating high medical-loss levels; and Centene’s 2026 revenue guidance ($186.5B–$190.5B) is below the Street’s ~$192B consensus — revenue guidance miss + high HBRs likely drove investor disappointment. PR Newswire: Centene 2025 results and 2026 guidance

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CNC shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays set a $44.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.81.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CNC

Centene Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.81.

Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.41 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 455.6% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 11,011.1% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Centene

(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.