Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Stock Price

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $216.00 to $198.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.28% from the stock’s current price.

MOH has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $400.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Molina Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $414.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on Molina Healthcare from $260.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price (down previously from $335.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $242.91.

Molina Healthcare Stock Up 4.9%

MOH stock opened at $167.40 on Friday. Molina Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $151.95 and a fifty-two week high of $365.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $223.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.52.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.50 by ($0.02). Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The firm had revenue of $11.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO James Woys bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $155.94 per share, for a total transaction of $1,559,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 74,331 shares in the company, valued at $11,591,176.14. This trade represents a 15.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronna Romney sold 700 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.74, for a total value of $107,618.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,633,719.94. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MOH. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 126.3% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 930.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 90 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Elequin Capital LP boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 170.6% during the 1st quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 92 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

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.