Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, a growth of 22.9% from the February 13th total of 1,400,000 shares. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 727,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MOH shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Molina Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Molina Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (down previously from $378.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $339.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $370.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.69.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In other Molina Healthcare news, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.33, for a total value of $301,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,375 shares in the company, valued at $5,235,608.75. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Molina Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 930.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 103 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Molina Healthcare by 2,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 104 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE MOH opened at $314.66 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $298.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $309.90. The firm has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.56. Molina Healthcare has a twelve month low of $262.32 and a twelve month high of $423.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $5.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.74 by ($0.69). Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 28.13%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.