Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $440.00 to $410.00. The stock had previously closed at $376.57, but opened at $356.77. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Molina Healthcare shares last traded at $359.30, with a volume of 74,260 shares changing hands.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Molina Healthcare from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays started coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $437.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Molina Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Molina Healthcare from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $439.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $393.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.05, for a total transaction of $401,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,494,567.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Molina Healthcare news, CFO Mark Lowell Keim sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.56, for a total value of $5,798,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 36,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,121,423.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.05, for a total value of $401,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,567.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,711 shares of company stock valued at $6,472,517. 1.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,449,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,151,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,372 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $275,143,000. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $214,363,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 151.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 893,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,128,000 after acquiring an additional 538,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,457,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,633,000 after acquiring an additional 501,107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $395.20 and a 200-day moving average of $370.65.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 3.20%. The business had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. Molina Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Molina Healthcare

Molina Healthcare, Inc provides managed healthcare services to low-income families and individuals under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. It operates in four segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and Other. The company served in across 19 states. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California.