How to Buy Centene Stock
Centene Corp
Centene is a healthcare plan company located in Missouri, United States, which is part of the Healthcare sector, and is traded under the ticker CNC on the NYSE exchange.
Centene stock last closed at $59.85, up 1% from the previous day, and has decreased 18.08% in one year. It has underperformed other stocks in the Healthcare Plans industry by 0.06 percentage points. Centene stock is currently +8.76% from its 52-week low of $55.03, and -25.74% from its 52-week high of $80.59.
There are currently 497.6M shares of CNC outstanding. The market value of CNC is $29.78B. In the past 24 hours, 5.48M CNC shares were traded.
How to Buy Centene Stock
Wondering how to invest in Centene stock? Here's how.
- Figure out where to buy Centene stock: You need to pick a stock brokerage, but don't worry - we've tried dozens of stock brokerages and apps to help you decide where to buy Centene stock.
- Create a brokerage account: Sign up for 0% commission trading with the highest-rated brokerage we've selected.
- Fund your brokerage account: Choose your method of payment and add your info.
- Evaluate Centene stock: The Centene ticker symbol is CNC. Is Centene stock a good investment? Should you buy shares of CNC? How do CNC's underlying business fundamentals look? Do top analysts think Centene is a good buy? Why has CNC's stock price moved recently? (Hint: Our stock market research website can help you decide if CNC is a good stock to buy).
- Place your CNC purchase: Decide if you will purchase CNC shares at the current market price or use a limit order to buy CNC shares at a particular price.
- Monitor your CNC investment: Create a watchlist to monitor your investment in Centene stock.
Step 1: Figure out where to buy Centene stock
You will need an online brokerage account to access the NYSE market and buy CNC stock.
Our preferred brokerage: eToro
We believe that eToro is the best place to buy stocks. Here's why:
- Invest in stocks with 0% commissions: Invest without paying trading commissions.
- Buy fractional shares: Even if you can't afford a full share, you can still buy the stock.
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- Social investing: eToro has a community of more than 20 million users globally. Talk to, learn from, and copy the crypto trades of other investors.
- Security: eToro is a regulated and licensed fintech leader.
- Buy other assets: Such as ETFs and cryptocurrencies.
Get $10 towards your purchase of shares by creating an account with eToro today. This offer is only for US users.
Open eToro AccountStep 2: Create a brokerage account
Now that you've selected the right brokerage, you'll need to fill out some personal information so you can buy CNC stock today.
How to Start a New Brokerage Account on eToro
- Click here to get started.eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
- Provide your personal details to create your new trading account.
- Submit your data by hitting the "Create Account" button. Get started with eToro today
Step 3: Fund your brokerage account
Now that you have created your account on the best stock app, you need to deposit funds:
Watch the tutorial below to see the process of depositing funds into your investment account.
Step 4: Evaluate Centene stock
After you have chosen the best place to buy Centene stock, it's very important to evaluate their stock prior to investing, so you actually understand the risk and opportunity.
Centene shares at a glance
CNC Overview
WallStreetZen was created to help average investors perform better fundamental analysis in less time.
You can view all of the due diligence checks on CNC's stock page.
Is CNC stock undervalued or overvalued?
Analysts use many financial metrics, analyses, models, and charts to gauge CNC's intrinsic value.
Using relative valuations metrics:
- CNC could be undervalued based on its P/E ratio of 8.81x, relative to Healthcare Plans industry P/E ratio of 22.98x
- CNC could be undervalued based on its P/B ratio of 1.07x, relative to Healthcare Plans industry P/B ratio of 2.44x
- CNC may be overvalued based on its PEG ratio of 1.37x
You can do additional valuation research on CNC's stock here.
CNC Financial Health Overview
Passed Health Checks:
- There are more short-term assets than long-term liabilities on the CNC balance sheet.
- CNC profit margin has gone up from 1.8% to 2% in the past year.
- There are more short-term assets than short-term liabilities on the CNC balance sheet.
- CNC earnings of $5.23B is not enough to cover its interest payments.
Failed Health Checks:
- CNC has a relatively high debt to equity ratio of 2.11.
- CNC's operating cash flow of $2.12B allows it to safely service it's debt of $18.32B.
- Total CNC debt is higher than 5 years ago, relative to shareholder equity.
Is it a good time to buy CNC stock, according to Wall Street analysts?
Out of 10 Equities analysts who track CNC, the consensus analyst rating on CNC is a Strong Buy
It's important to note that analyst ratings are not recommendations, nor are they financial advice.
Most Recent CNC Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades
Scott Fidel, a top 9% analyst from Stephens & Co. maintains CNC with a hold rating and lowers their CNC price target from $75.00 to $73.00, on Dec 13, 2024.
Ryan MacDonald, a bottom 8% analyst from Truist Securities maintains CNC with a strong buy rating and lowers their CNC price target from $89.00 to $84.00, on Dec 13, 2024.
Michael Wiederhorn, a bottom 11% analyst from Oppenheimer maintains CNC with a buy rating and lowers their CNC price target from $95.00 to $85.00, on Dec 13, 2024.
A.J. Rice, a top 11% analyst from UBS upgrades CNC to a strong buy rating and raises their CNC price target from $79.00 to $80.00, on Dec 13, 2024.
Sarah James, a bottom 5% analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald reiterates CNC with a strong buy rating and maintains their CNC price target from $90.00 to $90.00, on Dec 11, 2024.
You can dive deeper into what analysts are projecting on the Centene stock forecast page.
CNC Technical Indicators
CNC Earnings
Last year, CNC earnings were $3.45B. Over the past 5 year, CNC's earnings have increased by 27.57% per year. This was faster than the Healthcare Plans industry average of 1.74%.
Last year, CNC revenue was $169.28B. During the past five year, CNC's revenue has gone up by 15.54% per year. This was faster than the Healthcare Plans industry average of 11.13%.
Find out more about CNC's earnings and revenue performance here.
Who is buying/selling CNC?
Over the past 12 months, insiders at CNC have sold more shares than they have bought.
Andrew Lynn Asher, Chief Financial Officer of CNC, was the latest CNC insider to sell. They sold $609,552.54 worth of CNC stock on Apr 26, 2025.
Dig into more about who owns CNC shares here.
Does CNC provide a stable income stream?
No, Centene doesn't provide an income stream by paying out dividends.
What do other investors have to say about CNC?
One of the biggest reasons eToro is our top-rated brokerage is because of its social trading community.
Click below to learn what other community members have to say.
Step 5: Place your CNC purchase
There are two primary types of orders:
- Market order: A market order is an order to buy or sell a stock at the best possible price.
Market orders are mostly the best for newer investors. - Limit order: A limit order lets you buy or sell a stock at a specific price (or better).
If you want to be sure you're buying or selling at an exact dollar amount limit, place a limit order.
Click the Open Trade button and eToro will execute your order.
If you want additional help with buying stocks on eToro, watch the how to video below:
Step 6: Monitor your CNC investment
Now that you own some CNC shares, you'll want to stay up-to-date on your investment.
Make a watchlist to see the latest developments about your CNC stock.
CNC Feed
How to Buy Stock in Centene
To reiterate, here are the 6 steps you need to take to buy Centene stock right now:
- Figure out where to buy Centene stock
- Create a brokerage account
- Fund your brokerage account
- Evaluate Centene stock
- Place your CNC purchase
- Monitor your CNC investment
If you need a online brokerage, eToro is our favorite option.
Get Started with eToro TodayIf you want to get the latest news on your investment in Centene, create your watchlist below.
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