Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Earns Neutral Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has reissued a "neutral" rating for Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) with a price objective of $210.00, significantly down from their previous target of $312.00.
• Molina Healthcare reported $5.48 earnings per share in its last quarterly earnings, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $5.50, despite a 15.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Insider transactions saw CEO Joseph M. Zubretsky sell 87,500 shares of the company, reducing his ownership by over 25%, amid various changes in target prices from multiple brokerages.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $210.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $312.00. Cantor Fitzgerald's price target indicates a potential upside of 28.46% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MOH. Mizuho reduced their target price on Molina Healthcare from $400.00 to $330.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $414.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Molina Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Molina Healthcare from $400.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Molina Healthcare has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.83.

Molina Healthcare Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE MOH opened at $163.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.55. Molina Healthcare has a 12 month low of $157.48 and a 12 month high of $365.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $270.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.10.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.50 by ($0.02). Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $11.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.86 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Molina Healthcare

In other news, CEO Joseph M. Zubretsky sold 87,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.06, for a total transaction of $28,005,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 257,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,484,262.90. The trade was a 25.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owned 11,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,603,702. The trade was a 5.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Molina Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MOH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position 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 valued at $1,264,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,903 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 74,593.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 667,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,708,000 after acquiring an additional 666,122 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,675,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,801,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,214,000 after acquiring an additional 427,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 1,641.3% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 409,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,274,000 after acquiring an additional 386,273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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