Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH) Short Interest Up 28.0% in August

Key Points

• Molina Healthcare's short interest surged by 28.0% in August, totaling 2,240,000 shares, which represents approximately 4.2% of the company's stock.
• The company's stock price increased by 3.5% to $181.68 during mid-day trading, with a market cap of $9.85 billion.
• Recent analyst recommendations have lowered price targets for Molina Healthcare, with some reducing their ratings from "buy" to "hold."

Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,240,000 shares, a growth of 28.0% from the July 31st total of 1,750,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 4.2% of the company's stock are short sold.

Molina Healthcare Stock Up 3.5%

Molina Healthcare stock traded up $6.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $181.68. 1,284,265 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,026,336. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.54. Molina Healthcare has a 1-year low of $151.95 and a 1-year high of $365.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $185.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.97.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.50 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $11.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.94 billion. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 27.72% and a net margin of 2.60%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronna Romney sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.74, for a total value of $107,618.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,131 shares in the company, valued at $2,633,719.94. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO James Woys bought 10,000 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $155.94 per share, with a total value of $1,559,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 74,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,591,176.14. This represents a 15.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Molina Healthcare

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,580 shares of the company's stock worth $3,814,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 90 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 10,626 shares of the company's stock worth $3,500,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. now owns 10,071 shares of the company's stock worth $3,317,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 126.3% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 86 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MOH has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $284.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Molina Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $400.00 to $330.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down previously from $335.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $373.00 to $179.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $225.18.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.