Wells Fargo & Company Downgrades Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) to Equal Weight

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) was downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $141.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 6.55% from the stock’s previous close.

MOH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Mizuho set a $220.00 price objective on Molina Healthcare in a research report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Molina Healthcare from $175.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $224.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.86.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

Molina Healthcare stock opened at $150.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.89. Molina Healthcare has a 52-week low of $121.06 and a 52-week high of $359.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($2.75) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($3.18). The firm had revenue of $11.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 billion. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 1.04% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.05 EPS. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000- EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 357 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.02, for a total value of $51,058.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,352 shares in the company, valued at $1,623,563.04. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Molina Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Molina Healthcare by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,171,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,831,000 after purchasing an additional 201,772 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,690,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,453,000 after buying an additional 329,679 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after buying an additional 2,864 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $1,562,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Molina Healthcare by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

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.