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CNC vs ELV
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Centene Corporation (CNC) vs. Elevance Health (ELV) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Both CNC and ELV exhibited strong recent momentum, with monthly gains of over 30% for CNC and 21% for ELV amid healthcare sector rebounds.
- ELV delivered a strong quarterly earnings beat with adjusted EPS (earnings per share) of $12.58 and raised full-year guidance, enhancing investor confidence.
- CNC faces headwinds from declining memberships in Affordable Care Act plans, pressuring near-term results despite positive 2026 EPS guidance above $3.00.
- ELV boasts a larger market cap of approximately $75 billion compared to CNC's $21 billion, reflecting greater scale and diversification.
- Analyst price targets suggest modest upside for CNC around $43, while ELV targets exceed $380, indicating stronger relative sentiment.
- Year-to-date, both stocks are roughly flat, but CNC has underperformed over the past year with a steeper decline of about 30% versus ELV's 17% drop.
Introduction
In the competitive managed healthcare sector, CNC and ELV stand out as key players navigating regulatory shifts, Medicare rate adjustments, and enrollment trends. This comparison analyzes their recent stock performance, business dynamics, and market positioning, offering insights for investors and traders focused on healthcare stocks. Amid broader market volatility and sector-specific catalysts like improved Medicare Advantage rates for 2027, understanding relative strengths helps evaluate opportunities in stable dividend payers versus growth-oriented managed care providers. Both companies serve underinsured populations but differ in scale and exposure, making this head-to-head relevant for portfolio diversification.
CNC Overview and Recent Performance
Centene Corporation (CNC) is a leading managed care organization primarily focused on government-sponsored programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. In recent market activity, CNC shares have rebounded sharply, gaining over 30% in the past month from lows near $25, trading around $42 amid anticipation for its quarterly results. This follows a challenging year with a roughly 30% decline, driven by plunging ACA enrollments, one in seven non-payments, and elevated medical costs. Sentiment has been tempered by expected EPS declines and membership losses, though improved risk adjustment payables and 2026 guidance for adjusted diluted EPS exceeding $3.00 provide a foundation for recovery. Analysts maintain a Hold consensus with targets near $43, highlighting value but near-term risks.
ELV Overview and Recent Performance
Elevance Health (ELV), formerly Anthem, operates a diversified health benefits company with exposure to commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid segments. Recent weeks have seen ELV shares rise about 21% monthly, closing near $345 after a year-to-date flat performance and 17% annual drop from highs above $420. Strong quarterly results fueled optimism, with revenue up 1.5% to $49.5 billion and adjusted EPS of $12.58 beating estimates, alongside raised full-year guidance to $26.75. Insider purchases totaling $3.68 million signal confidence, while Medicare rate increases for 2027 supported sector gains. Trading at a forward PE of around 14.6 with a 2% dividend yield, ELV benefits from operational discipline and AI-driven efficiencies, with analysts favoring Buy ratings and targets above $380.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
CNC emphasizes government programs like Medicaid, exposing it more to enrollment volatility and regulatory risks such as ACA changes, contrasting ELV's balanced commercial and Medicare mix for steadier revenue. Growth drivers differ: ELV leverages scale for margin expansion via AI and efficiencies, while CNC pursues membership recovery post-declines. Recent momentum favors CNC's sharper rebound, but ELV shows superior stability with earnings beats versus CNC's projected EPS pressure. Risk factors include CNC's sensitivity to medical loss ratios and payables, versus ELV's diversification mitigating sector headwinds. Market sentiment tilts toward ELV's insider activity and upgrades, positioning it better in a rising rate environment for healthcare insurers.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron's AI currently leans toward ELV based on consistent earnings momentum, raised guidance, insider confidence, and relative stability amid sector upticks. CNC offers value from its rebound and long-term guidance but trails in catalysts and trend reliability, suggesting ELV's positioning holds higher probability for near-term outperformance in the managed care space.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full Disclaimers and Limitations.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is CNC is a StrongBuy and ELV is a Hold.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
CNC’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileELV’s FA Score has 2 green FA rating(s).
- CNC’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- ELV’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
CNC’s TA Score shows that 3 TA indicator(s) are bullish while ELV’s TA Score has 3 bullish TA indicator(s).
- CNC’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 5 bearish.
- ELV’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 5 bearish.
Price Growth
CNC (@Managed Health Care) experienced а +4.59% price change this week, while ELV (@Managed Health Care) price change was -2.36% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Managed Health Care industry was +8.85%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +10.99%, and the average quarterly price growth was +31.11%.
Reported Earning Dates
CNC is expected to report earnings on Jul 28, 2026.
ELV is expected to report earnings on Jul 22, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Managed Health Care (+8.85% weekly)Managed healthcare industry focuses on providing health/medical and disability insurance plans, generally intended to reduce the cost of for-profit health care. The insurance products might be provided through employer-paid (fully or partly) insurance and benefit programs, or through Medicare/Medicaid. Some of the largest providers of managed health care include Aetna, Humana Inc., and Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare.
| CNC | ELV | CNC / ELV | |
| Capitalization | 32.2B | 87.7B | 37% |
| EBITDA | -4.44B | N/A | - |
| Gain YTD | 58.420 | 16.450 | 355% |
| P/E Ratio | 9.06 | 17.12 | 53% |
| Revenue | 198B | 200B | 99% |
| Total Cash | 23.7B | N/A | - |
| Total Debt | 16.4B | 31.8B | 52% |
CNC | ELV | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 67 | 30 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 58 Fair valued | 7 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 100 | 89 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 98 | 98 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 5 | 22 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 71 | 39 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 65 | 65 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
ELV's Valuation (7) in the Managed Health Care industry is somewhat better than the same rating for CNC (58). This means that ELV’s stock grew somewhat faster than CNC’s over the last 12 months.
ELV's Profit vs Risk Rating (89) in the Managed Health Care industry is in the same range as CNC (100). This means that ELV’s stock grew similarly to CNC’s over the last 12 months.
ELV's SMR Rating (98) in the Managed Health Care industry is in the same range as CNC (98). This means that ELV’s stock grew similarly to CNC’s over the last 12 months.
CNC's Price Growth Rating (5) in the Managed Health Care industry is in the same range as ELV (22). This means that CNC’s stock grew similarly to ELV’s over the last 12 months.
ELV's P/E Growth Rating (39) in the Managed Health Care industry is in the same range as CNC (71). This means that ELV’s stock grew similarly to CNC’s over the last 12 months.
| CNC | ELV | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 82% | 3 days ago 67% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 66% | 3 days ago 61% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 62% | 3 days ago 64% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 60% | 3 days ago 60% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 62% | 3 days ago 58% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 64% | 3 days ago 51% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 60% | 7 days ago 56% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 66% | 4 days ago 56% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 56% | 3 days ago 65% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 62% | 3 days ago 43% |
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CNC and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, CNC has been closely correlated with MOH. These tickers have moved in lockstep 66% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if CNC jumps, then MOH could also see price increases.
ELV and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, ELV has been loosely correlated with UNH. These tickers have moved in lockstep 64% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if ELV jumps, then UNH could also see price increases.