CNC
Centene Corporation
CNC has the edge over NVO overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
NVO
Novo Nordisk A/S
NVO offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CNC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
CNC's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow are stable.
NVO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
NVO's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
CNC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $34.05 | -52% |
| Forward | 13x | $70.27 | — |
| Fair | 19x | $57.25 | -19% |
| Current | 23x | $70.27 | — |
| Expensive | 33x | $100 | +43% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CNC's PE is in its fair range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 13x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
NVO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 10x | $40.65 | — |
| Cheap | 14x | $53.56 | +32% |
| Fair | 27x | $103 | +154% |
| Expensive | 39x | $152 | +273% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NVO has the edge over CNC in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
CNC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect CNC's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
NVO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect NVO's revenue to grow, but its profitability to weaken. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CNC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.24 | +74% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.01 | +$13.76 |
| Q2 2026 | -$10.35 | -352% |
| Q1 2026 | -$13.05 | -292% |
| Q4 2025 | -$13.53 | -314% |
| Q3 2025 | -$10.75 | -285% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.11 | -23% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.78 | +34% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.31 | +27% |
CNC has returned to profit: it earned $3.01 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
NVO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $3.89 | +4.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.07 | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.42 | +1.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.47 | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.71 | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.49 | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.36 | +21% |
| Q3 2024 | $3.15 | +27% |
NVO has the edge over CNC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CNC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $50.6B | +1.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $53.6B | +9.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $49.9B | +7.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $49.7B | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $49.7B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $48.7B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $46.6B | +15% |
| Q4 2024 | $40.8B | +3.4% |
CNC's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $50.6B last quarter, up 1.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.6% | +13 points |
| Q2 2026 | 2.2% | +3.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.7% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | -3.5% | -3.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | -14% | -16 points |
| Q2 2025 | -0.9% | -4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.3% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 0.4% | +0.9 points |
CNC's operating margin was −0.6% last quarter, up 13 points from the same quarter a year ago.
NVO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $11.7B | +2.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $14.4B | +24% |
| Q4 2025 | $11.8B | -7.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.1B | +5.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $11.4B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.6B | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.7B | +30% |
| Q3 2024 | $10.6B | +21% |
NVO's revenue is growing: $11.7B last quarter, up 2.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 34% | -9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 62% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 40% | -2.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | -16 points |
| Q2 2025 | 44% | +5.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 50% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 43% | +2.2 points |
| Q3 2024 | 47% | +1.6 points |
NVO has the edge over CNC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CNC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$3.9B | -437% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.4B | +117% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.2B | +203% |
| Q4 2025 | $224M | +$965M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +$2.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.6B | -21% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.4B | +$2B |
| Q4 2024 | -$741M | -$735M |
CNC usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$3.9B, but it generated $3.9B over the past year.
NVO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $6.3B | +73% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | -$5.4B | -$4.7B |
| Q3 2025 | $4.6B | -2.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.6B | -34% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +89% |
| Q4 2024 | -$632.6M | +$390.5M |
| Q3 2024 | $4.7B | +3.3% |
NVO still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2026 peak: $7.3B over the past year.
CNC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -3.5M shares |
| 1 year | +0.6% | +3M shares |
| 3 years | -8.7% | -47.1M shares |
| 5 years | -16% | -96.6M shares |
| Available history | -10% | -57.9M shares |
CNC has 494M diluted shares, up 0.6% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $24M |
| Q2 2026 | $4M |
| Q1 2026 | $29M |
| Q4 2025 | $2M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $432M |
| Q1 2025 | $41M |
| Q4 2024 | $943M |
CNC spent $59M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 96% from the year before.
NVO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -12.9M shares |
| 1 year | -0.2% | -11M shares |
| 3 years | -1.5% | -66.8M shares |
| 5 years | -3.8% | -177M shares |
| Available history | -6.5% | -311M shares |
NVO has the edge over CNC on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $520M |
| Q1 2026 | $356.7M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $206.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1B |
| Q3 2024 | $357.4M |
NVO spent $877M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 48% from the year before.
CNC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q3 2024 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2024 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q4 2023 | 0.2x | Very low |
CNC has the edge over NVO on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
NVO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.0x | Very low |
NVO's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
CNC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 62.6 | Neutral |
CNC's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 63 (neutral).
NVO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.0 | Neutral |
NVO's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 27 (neutral).
CNC PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | CNC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 9.7% below |
| PE % | 64 | 29 | 35 pts above |
CNC is trading at 23x earnings, in line with the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
NVO PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | NVO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 10x | 26x | 60% below |
| PE % | 6 | 29 | 23 pts below |
NVO has the edge over CNC on valuation relative to its sector.
CNC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $67.3 | 4.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $66.3 | 5.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $54.3 | 29% above |
| 100 week MA | $51.0 | 38% above |
| 200 week MA | $60.6 | 16% above |
CNC has the edge over NVO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NVO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $39.2 | 3.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $43.9 | 7.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $45.3 | 10% below |
| 100 week MA | $56.3 | 28% below |
| 200 week MA | $80.7 | 50% below |
NVO has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 50% below its 200-week average.
CNC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $63.7 | $58.0 | -8.8% |
| 2021 | $58.0 | $84.7 | +46% |
| 2022 | $84.7 | $81.6 | -3.6% |
| 2023 | $81.6 | $74.2 | -9.1% |
| 2024 | $74.2 | $60.6 | -18% |
| 2025 | $60.6 | $40.5 | -33% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $70.3 | +73% |
CNC has the edge over NVO on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
NVO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $29.1 | $34.7 | +19% |
| 2021 | $34.7 | $54.2 | +56% |
| 2022 | $54.2 | $67.0 | +24% |
| 2023 | $67.0 | $103.5 | +54% |
| 2024 | $103.5 | $87.4 | -16% |
| 2025 | $87.4 | $52.4 | -40% |
| 2026 YTD | $52.4 | $40.7 | -22% |
NVO has finished higher in four of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's down 22% so far in 2026.