Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

MOH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $359.00 price target on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $348.00 to $341.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $340.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. They set a neutral rating and a $310.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Molina Healthcare currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $351.31.

Molina Healthcare Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MOH opened at $329.00 on Friday. Molina Healthcare has a 52 week low of $256.19 and a 52 week high of $374.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $312.91 and a 200 day moving average of $293.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.65.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $5.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.60. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 35.87%. The company had revenue of $8.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.55 earnings per share. Molina Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare will post 20.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In related news, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.25, for a total transaction of $217,803.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,265 shares in the company, valued at $6,104,831.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Molina Healthcare news, insider Jeff D. Barlow sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.77, for a total transaction of $3,784,625.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 64,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,671,875.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 723 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.25, for a total transaction of $217,803.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,265 shares in the company, valued at $6,104,831.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,938 shares of company stock worth $5,474,336. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the second quarter worth about $31,510,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 261.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 11,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,434,000 after buying an additional 8,242 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 182.3% in the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 15,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,698,000 after buying an additional 10,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 4.5% in the second quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,419,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,731,000 after buying an additional 61,709 shares in the last quarter. 98.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

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.