Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $195.13, but opened at $157.05. Molina Healthcare shares last traded at $156.36, with a volume of 1,838,825 shares traded.

The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($2.13). Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 1.98%.The business had revenue of $11.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.01 EPS. Molina Healthcare’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-14.000 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MOH. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Molina Healthcare from $373.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on Molina Healthcare from $186.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $210.00 target price on Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Molina Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.15.

Insider Transactions at Molina Healthcare

In other news, COO James Woys bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $155.94 per share, with a total value of $1,559,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 74,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,591,176.14. This trade represents a 15.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronna Romney sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.74, for a total value of $107,618.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,633,719.94. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 0.3% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 60.7% in the first 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. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 0.4% in the first quarter. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. now owns 10,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Elequin Capital LP lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 170.6% in the first 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. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

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.