We recently published a list of Billionaire Israel Englander’s 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) stands against other billionaire Israel Englander’s stock picks with huge upside potential.
Millennium Management is a globally recognized investment firm specializing in multi-strategy hedge fund offerings. Founded in 1989 by Israel A. Englander and Ronald Shear, the firm initially launched with $35 million in capital, including a $5 million contribution from Englander and additional investment secured from Canadian financiers, the Belzberg brothers. Despite early struggles that led to Shear’s departure just six months after its inception, Millennium evolved into one of the largest and most successful alternative asset management firms. As of late 2024, it boasts over $75.8 billion in assets under management.
Headquartered in New York, Millennium has expanded its operations globally, establishing 18 primary offices in major financial hubs including London, Dubai, Singapore, and Tokyo. The firm employs a platform-based investment approach, with approximately 330 independent investment teams operating under a decentralized model. These teams deploy a wide array of strategies across multiple asset classes, including equities, fixed income, commodities, and derivatives. Millennium’s core strategies focus on fundamental equity research, equity arbitrage, macroeconomic-driven fixed income investments, and commodity-based trades. Through this highly diversified, data-driven model, the firm aims to generate consistent, high-quality returns while managing risk effectively across global markets.
Under the leadership of Israel Englander, who remains the driving force behind the firm, Millennium has cultivated a disciplined risk management framework and continuously refined its investment strategies. A graduate of New York University who left his MBA program early to trade on the American Stock Exchange, Englander applied his market-making and derivatives trading expertise to build Millennium into an institutional powerhouse. His innovative approach emphasizes capital allocation to specialized teams rather than direct investment decisions, fostering a dynamic and competitive investment environment that attracts top talent from around the world. By 2011, Millennium was managing approximately $13 billion in assets, and in recent years, Englander has explored opportunities to sell a minority stake in the firm, signaling a move toward broader institutional ownership.
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Millennium reported managing $204.64 billion in 13F securities, with its top ten holdings accounting for 15.5% of its portfolio. It has consistently ranked among the highest-grossing hedge funds, achieving the fourth-largest net gains of any hedge fund since inception. Millennium’s commitment to generating superior risk-adjusted returns, maintaining a diversified investment approach, and embracing strategic innovation has earned it a formidable reputation among institutional investors. With its expansive global presence, proven track record, and disciplined investment philosophy, Millennium Management continues to be a dominant force in the global hedge fund industry.
Our Methodology
For this article, we searched through Millennium Management’s Q4 2024 13F filings to identify billionaire Israel Englander’s stock picks with the highest upside potential. We compiled the equities with upside potential higher than 33% based on analyst ratings and discussed why they stood out as sound potential investments. Finally, we ranked the stocks based on the ascending order of their upside potential. To assist readers with more context, we mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock using data from 1,009 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 363.5% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 208 percentage points (see more details here).
Israel Englander of Millennium Management
Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 72
Millennium Management’s Equity Stake: $371.24 Million
Upside Potential as of April 26: 33.96%
Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC), a for-profit healthcare company based in St. Louis, Missouri, operates as an intermediary for government-sponsored and privately insured healthcare programs and ranked No. 25 on the 2023 Fortune 500 list.
In the first quarter of 2025, Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) reported quarterly earnings of $2.90 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.52 per share and up from $2.26 per share in the same quarter a year earlier. Net income rose to $1.3 billion, or $2.63 per share, compared to $1.1 billion, or $2.16 per share, in the first quarter of 2024. The company’s premium and service revenues increased 17% year-over-year, reaching $42.5 billion, primarily driven by membership growth and premium increases in its prescription drug plan business, as well as strong product positioning and overall market expansion in the marketplace business. Centene attributed its robust first-quarter profits to a significant rise in Obamacare enrollment, which fueled both membership and revenue growth.
Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) CEO Sarah London recently discussed the company’s key policy priorities, focusing particularly on potential changes to Medicaid and the future of enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans. According to London, there appears to be little appetite either in Congress or within the White House for broad cuts to Medicaid benefits, offering some reassurance regarding the stability of the program. However, she noted that there are ongoing conversations about implementing targeted policy changes for the Medicaid expansion population, such as introducing work requirements for individuals who gained coverage through the expansion. These discussions reflect the broader policy environment Centene must navigate as it continues to grow its presence in government-sponsored healthcare markets.
During the fourth quarter of 2024, Millennium Management sharply boosted its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC), growing its holdings by 205% to surpass 6 million shares, up from 2 million shares in the prior quarter. This substantial increase brought the fund’s total investment in Centene to approximately $371 million.
Overall, CNC ranks 9th on our list of billionaire Israel Englander’s stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of CNC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CNC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
