Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Molina Healthcare has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, impacting investor sentiment on the stock.
• Several research firms have revised their price targets on Molina Healthcare, with Robert W. Baird reducing it from $373.00 to $179.00 and Goldman Sachs lowering it from $207.00 to $167.00.
• The company reported lower-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with an EPS of $1.84, significantly missing the consensus estimate of $3.97.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MOH. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Molina Healthcare from $373.00 to $179.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial set a $175.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $207.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $158.00 price objective on Molina Healthcare in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $203.64.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of MOH opened at $163.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $184.20 and a 200 day moving average of $239.33. Molina Healthcare has a twelve month low of $151.95 and a twelve month high of $359.97. The company has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($2.13). Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 22.95% and a net margin of 1.98%.The company had revenue of $11.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-14.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronna Romney sold 700 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 17,131 shares in the company, valued at $2,633,719.94. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO James Woys bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,591,176.14. The trade was a 15.54% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MOH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Molina Healthcare by 46.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,838,043 shares of the company's stock worth $1,264,214,000 after buying an additional 1,216,903 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare during the second quarter worth $212,113,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 25.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,601,574 shares of the company's stock worth $477,109,000 after purchasing an additional 329,759 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare during the third quarter worth $52,813,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare during the second quarter worth $79,665,000. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company's stock.

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.

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