Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) on Tuesday posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and 2026 outlook.

The company reported a first-quarter 2026 adjusted loss of $3.37, beating the consensus of $2.13 per share, approximately 50 cents better than the company's expectations. Centene's sales reached $49.94 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion.

In an investor call, the company said, "Medicaid results in the quarter were ahead of our previous projection, outperforming our HBR expectation in the period within that, we experienced a flu season that was lighter than our original forecast and saw a slight utilization benefit from weather events."

Centene expects fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of more than $3.40, versus prior guidance of $3 per share, compared to the consensus of $3.02.

The company expects 2026 sales of $187.5 billion-$191.5 billion versus the consensus of $188.91 billion and prior guidance of $186.5 billion-$190.5 billion, including premium revenues between $171 billion and $175 billion (prior guidance of $170 billion-$174 billion).

Centene shares rose 7.1% to trade at $53.11 on Wednesday.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on Centene following earnings announcement.

  • B of A Securities analyst Kevin Fischbeck upgraded Centene from Underperform to Buy and raised the price target from $34 to $60.
  • Truist Securities analyst David Macdonald maintained the stock with a Buy and raised the price target from $49 to $58.
  • Barclays analyst Andrew Mok maintained the stock with an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $54 to $63.

Considering buying CNC stock? Here’s what analysts think:

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