Zacks Research Upgrades Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Molina Healthcare from “hold” to “strong-buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with a $202.44 target price.
• Molina opened at $188.87, with shares trading between a 1-year low of $121.06 and high of $244.89; the company has a market capitalization of approximately $9.86 billion.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.51 versus the $1.39 consensus, while revenue reached $10.87 billion but declined 4.8% year over year. Institutional investors own approximately 98.5% of the stock.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

MOH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Molina Healthcare from $146.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Molina Healthcare from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $248.00 to $218.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Molina Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $202.44.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

MOH opened at $188.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Molina Healthcare has a 1-year low of $121.06 and a 1-year high of $244.89. The company has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,049.23, a PEG ratio of 27.40 and a beta of 0.75. The company's fifty day moving average price is $202.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.34.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $10.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.83 billion. Molina Healthcare had a positive return on equity of 3.73% and a negative net margin of 0.02%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.48 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Molina Healthcare will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MOH. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,503,052,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 11.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,267,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,810,000 after purchasing an additional 135,247 shares during the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $198,942,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Molina Healthcare by 23.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,394,882 shares of the company's stock worth $185,929,000 after purchasing an additional 267,121 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Molina Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $152,339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company's stock.

About Molina Healthcare

Molina Healthcare, Inc is a managed care company that provides health insurance and related services through government-sponsored programs. Its primary lines of business include Medicaid, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans, with a focus on serving low-income individuals, families, seniors, and people with complex medical needs.

The company offers health plans that coordinate medical, behavioral health, pharmacy, and other care services through contracted provider networks.

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