Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Stock Price

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird has reduced its price target for Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) from $373.00 to $179.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• Other analysts have also lowered their price targets, with the average consensus now at $322.17, indicating a potential for upside despite the recent declines in projections.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $5.48, slightly below analyst expectations, but showed a 15.7% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $373.00 to $179.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.44% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MOH. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $414.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Molina Healthcare from $400.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Molina Healthcare from $351.00 to $347.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Molina Healthcare from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $364.00 to $266.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $322.17.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

MOH stock opened at $157.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $270.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.55. Molina Healthcare has a one year low of $157.48 and a one year high of $365.23.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Molina Healthcare news, CEO Joseph M. Zubretsky sold 87,500 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.06, for a total transaction of $28,005,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 257,715 shares in the company, valued at $82,484,262.90. The trade was a 25.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 669 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $214,414.50. Following the sale, the director owned 11,244 shares in the company, valued at $3,603,702. This represents 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 Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MOH. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 157.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 33,051 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,619,000 after acquiring an additional 20,193 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,227,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 30,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,915,000 after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 88,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 7,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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