The takeaway
Centene Corp shows a moderate seasonal pattern over 10 years of data — strongest in March (+1.0%) and softest in February (−3.8%).
Right now
In July, the stock has fallen 50% of years, averaging −3.0%, roughly 5.1 pts behind the S&P 500.
The full picture
Centene Corp's most dependable month has been March, higher in 7 of 10 years; February has been its least reliable, up just 30% of the time.
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Month by month
The stock's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in May (+2.0 pts); it has trailed the market most in July (−5.1 pts).
“vs S&P” is Centene Corp’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Centene Corp’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, March has closed higher 80% of the time versus 70% across the last 10 years — the pattern is strengthening.
Figures are the typical (median) March return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 10(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 10-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
This is a stock you can almost set a calendar by, and March is the anchor — it has closed higher in 7 of 10 Marches, the steadiest beat on its year.
The strength looks broad-based rather than freakish: its average (+1.0%) and median (+2.4%) sit close together, so no single blow-out year is flattering the figure. Few months are steadier: March's returns vary by just 6.6% year to year. Set against the S&P 500, mind, March is close to a wash — the gain mirrors the market more than it beats it. Few peers keep such company in March — the typical stock clears it just 56% of the time.
It doesn't stand entirely alone — June and November have leaned firm as well, if less emphatically. At the other end of the calendar, February has been the soft spot — the weakest of 2 months that average a loss (−3.8%), and the edge isn't year-round — the stock has trailed the S&P 500 in July, February, and December. Its roughest month on record was a −54.0% July in 2025 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
If anything it has sharpened recently — the last five Marches run ahead of the earlier years.
For a stock this dependable in March, the sharper question is the rest of the year — outside its strong stretch, the calendar gives far less to lean on.
Short answers on the stock's best month (March), its worst (February), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a moderate degree. Since 2016 its best month (March, +1.0%) has run well ahead of its worst (February, −3.8%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
March has been the strongest, averaging +1.0% and closing higher in 7 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −3.8% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade