MBIA (NYSE:MBI) Shares Cross Below 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

MBIA, Inc. (NYSE:MBI) shares passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.29 and traded as low as $5.74. MBIA shares last traded at $5.76, with a volume of 150,245 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MBIA from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MBIA from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MBIA in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MBIA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.50.

MBIA Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.93. The company has a market cap of $293.38 million, a P/E ratio of -1.61 and a beta of 1.87.

MBIA (NYSE:MBI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The insurance provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $28.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.50 million. As a group, analysts forecast that MBIA, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MBIA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MBIA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,672,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in MBIA by 72.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,026,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,647,000 after buying an additional 432,906 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in MBIA by 184.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 416,964 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 270,192 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in MBIA by 453.9% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 249,048 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 204,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolf Hill Capital Management LP grew its stake in MBIA by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 2,560,708 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,335,000 after acquiring an additional 110,544 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

About MBIA

MBIA Inc is a financial guarantee insurance company specializing in credit enhancement and risk mitigation solutions for public finance and structured finance transactions. The company provides guaranty insurance for municipal bonds, asset-backed securities and other credit-sensitive obligations, protecting investors against the risk of payment default. Through its core insurance subsidiary, MBIA Insurance Corp., the firm offers financial guarantees, reinsurance support and customized credit solutions designed to improve the marketability and pricing of debt instruments.

Founded in 1973 as the Municipal Bond Insurance Association, MBIA built its reputation by insuring U.S.