Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Trading Up 3.8% – What’s Next?

by · The Markets Daily

Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH – Get Free Report)’s stock price rose 3.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $207.50 and last traded at $201.5580. Approximately 157,169 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,373,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Molina Healthcare from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $146.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $286.00 price target on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Molina Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Molina Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.44.

Check Out Our Latest Report on MOH

Molina Healthcare Stock Up 2.9%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.72. The firm has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,104.74, a P/E/G ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $10.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.83 billion. Molina Healthcare had a positive return on equity of 3.73% and a negative net margin of 0.02%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 7G Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,735,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 439,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,248,000 after buying an additional 169,739 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 394.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 156,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,822,000 after acquiring an additional 124,929 shares during the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Molina Healthcare by 227.8% during the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 38,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,609,000 after acquiring an additional 26,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Managers LLC. purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare during the first quarter valued at $2,349,000. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Molina Healthcare

(Get Free Report)

Molina Healthcare, Inc is a managed care company specializing in government-sponsored health insurance programs. The company offers Medicaid managed care plans, Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans, and individual Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act. Through an integrated care model, Molina emphasizes preventive and primary care services, care coordination, and disease management to improve health outcomes for its members.

The company traces its roots to the early 1980s, when Dr.

See Also