Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ALHC scored 69.7, CNC scored 41.0 — ALHC leads.
Compare another set
ALHC
Alignment Healthcare, Inc.
Healthcare Plans · Quality-Growth
69.7
$7.54 · $1.6B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
28.7
ALHC leads
CNC
Centene Corporation
Healthcare Plans · Quality-Growth
41
$65.36 · $32.3B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthALHC+46.1%
Strongest balance sheetCNC0.71
Highest qualityALHC46 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueCNC-78%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ALHC
stronger →← stronger
CNC
46
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
27
98
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
86
76
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
30
ALHC is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ALHC
CNC
$178mC
FCF
$9.0bB+
+46.1%A
Rev
+19.4%B+
1.25C
D/E
0.71C+
47.2xC
P/E
—
0.75A-
PEG
0.78A-
—
P/S
0.2xA
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ALHC
CNC
58% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
78% below
~-6%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
decline
+83%
1-yr DCF upside
+302%
+137%
5-yr DCF upside
+345%
+246%
10-yr DCF upside
+415%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
ALHC
Why this score
Diluting shareholders
CNC
No notable signals flagged.
The companies
ALHCAlignment Healthcare, Inc.
Healthcare Plans · $7.54 · beta 1.14
Why now
Healthcare Plans · market cap $1.6b. Down 70% from 52-week high of $25.12 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +46% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.75 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 13 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $17.15 (implying +127% upside).
Moat
ROE 20% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income.
Risk
Down 70% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Trailing P/E 47x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. Net margin 0.9% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
CNCCentene Corporation
Healthcare Plans · $65.36 · beta 1.13
Why now
Healthcare Plans · market cap $32.3b. 6% off the 52-week high of $69.63. Revenue growing +19%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.78 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 18 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $71.78 (implying +10% upside).
Moat
Turnaround / out-of-favor name — GAAP-unprofitable for now, so the durability case is forward-looking: it rests on a recovery (margin normalization, a cyclical upturn or restructuring) or an un-monetized asset (IP / network effects / first-mover position) rather than on current reported results.
Risk
Currently unprofitable (margin -2.8%) — path to GAAP profitability is the core thesis risk. ROE -20% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ALHC and CNC diverge
On the headline score the gap is 28.7 points in favor of ALHC. The widest single difference is Value, where ALHC leads by 46.0 points.
ValueALHC 75.9 · CNC 29.9ALHC +46.0
QualityALHC 45.6 · CNC 26.8ALHC +18.8
GrowthALHC 97.7 · CNC 86.0ALHC +11.7
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is ALHC or CNC the better stock?
ALHC scores higher: ALHC 69.7, CNC 41.0 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do ALHC and CNC differ most?
The widest gap is value, where ALHC leads by 46 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. ALHC leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are ALHC and CNC scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.