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Headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, Cencora, Inc. (COR) is a leading pharmaceutical services company dedicated to enhancing global healthcare. With a market cap of $47.7 billion, Cencora delivers innovative distribution and commercialization solutions, partnering with top pharmaceutical manufacturers, healthcare providers, and pharmacies to improve patient access to vital medications and therapies.
Cencora's shares have significantly underperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. COR has gained 5.9% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 20.5%. However, in 2025, the stock has returned 8.4% compared to SPX’s 2.9% gain on a YTD basis.
Zooming in further, COR is outperforming the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF’s (PPH) 2.2% gains over the past 52 weeks and 3.5% returns on a YTD basis.
Cencora's shares saw a slight uptick following its Q4 earnings report on Feb. 5. The company exceeded Wall Street’s revenue expectations, posting a 12.8% year-over-year increase to $81.49 billion, surpassing estimates by 5.2%. Adjusted EPS of $3.73 beat consensus by 6%, while adjusted EBITDA of $984.7 million came in below expectations. Management raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance by 3% to $15.40 at the midpoint, signaling confidence in sustained growth.
For the current fiscal year, ending in September 2025, analysts expect Cencora’s EPS to rise 11.7% to $15.37. The company’s earnings surprise history is promising. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.
COR stock has a consensus “Strong Buy” rating, an upgrade from the “Moderate Buy” rating three months back. Among the 15 analysts in coverage, 11 suggest a “Strong Buy,” and the remaining four analysts recommend a “Hold.”
On Feb. 6, Baird raised Cencora's price target to $307 from $305 while maintaining an “Outperform” rating, citing another strong earnings beat and upward guidance revision.
COR’s mean price target of $282.14 represents a premium of 15.8% to current price levels. Meanwhile, the Street-high target of $307 suggests a potential upside of 26%.
