Pediatrix Medical Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MD)

Key Points

• Pediatrix Medical Group saw unusually high options activity on Wednesday, with investors buying 6,020 put options — about 1,686% above the normal daily volume.
• Analysts are broadly cautious on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $23.33 after recent target increases from firms including UBS and Truist.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $0.44 per share on revenue of $476.2 million, while the stock traded at $25.57 on Wednesday.

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. (NYSE:MD - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 6,020 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,686% compared to the typical daily volume of 337 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Pediatrix Medical Group in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Pediatrix Medical Group from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Pediatrix Medical Group from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $24.00 price target on Pediatrix Medical Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Pediatrix Medical Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.33.

Insider Activity at Pediatrix Medical Group

In related news, Director Shirley A. Weis sold 36,028 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $855,665.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pediatrix Medical Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MD. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Pediatrix Medical Group by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,498,884 shares of the company's stock worth $63,297,000 after purchasing an additional 448,360 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pediatrix Medical Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 506,757 shares of the company's stock worth $10,840,000 after buying an additional 12,376 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Pediatrix Medical Group by 8.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pediatrix Medical Group by 77.7% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Pediatrix Medical Group by 23.4% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 22,928 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 4,343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.71% of the company's stock.

Pediatrix Medical Group Stock Performance

NYSE MD traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.57. The stock had a trading volume of 418,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,316. Pediatrix Medical Group has a 52-week low of $11.84 and a 52-week high of $27.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.72 and a 200 day moving average of $22.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.66.

Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $476.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $465.83 million. Pediatrix Medical Group had a return on equity of 19.94% and a net margin of 9.02%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Pediatrix Medical Group will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Pediatrix Medical Group Company Profile

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc NYSE: MD is a national physician-led medical group specializing in high-acuity newborn, maternal-fetal and pediatric subspecialty care. Headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, the company delivers clinical services through hospital-based physician staffing, advanced practitioner support and telemedicine programs. Its core specialties include neonatology, maternal-fetal medicine, pediatric cardiology, pediatric critical care, pediatric emergency medicine and anesthesiology.

Founded in 1979 and formerly known as MEDNAX, the company rebranded as Pediatrix Medical Group in 2022 to align its corporate identity with its primary clinical offerings.

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