Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $364.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.27% from the company’s current price.

MOH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Molina Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $372.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $414.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Molina Healthcare from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Molina Healthcare from $376.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $364.21.

Molina Healthcare Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MOH opened at $295.28 on Monday. Molina Healthcare has a twelve month low of $262.32 and a twelve month high of $365.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $318.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.57.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $6.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.96 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $11.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.86 billion. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 28.13% and a net margin of 2.90%. Molina Healthcare’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.73 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In related news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $214,414.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,244 shares in the company, valued at $3,603,702. The trade was a 5.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph M. Zubretsky sold 87,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.06, for a total value of $28,005,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 257,715 shares in the company, valued at $82,484,262.90. This trade represents a 25.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 3,192.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 5,587 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 82.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 465,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,388,000 after purchasing an additional 7,021 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Molina Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

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.