UBS Group Cuts Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Price Target to $180.00

Key Points

• UBS Group has reduced Molina Healthcare's price target from $260.00 to $180.00 and maintains a "neutral" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 9.66% from its current price.
• Other analysts, including Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, have also lowered their price targets, indicating a trend of reduced optimism regarding the stock's performance.
• Molina Healthcare's recent earnings report revealed a miss on earnings per share estimates, with actual results of $5.48 against a consensus estimate of $5.50.
• Despite recent challenges, Molina Healthcare has a strong institutional ownership, with 98.50% of the stock currently held by institutional investors.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by UBS Group from $260.00 to $180.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.66% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on MOH. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Molina Healthcare from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $364.00 to $266.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $400.00 to $330.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $180.00 price target (down previously from $335.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Molina Healthcare currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $267.42.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE:MOH traded up $5.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.15. The stock had a trading volume of 3,110,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,866. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Molina Healthcare has a 12 month low of $156.36 and a 12 month high of $365.23.

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

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In related news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $214,414.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,603,702. This trade represents a 5.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph M. Zubretsky sold 87,500 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MOH. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at $2,759,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 100.3% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 659 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth $1,070,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Molina Healthcare by 82.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,635 shares of the company's stock worth $5,150,000 after purchasing an additional 7,051 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth $255,000. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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