Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Shares Up 3.9% – Should You Buy?

Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH) shares shot up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $173.99 and last traded at $172.9670. 384,976 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 1,185,499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MOH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $284.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Molina Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $203.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.33.

Molina Healthcare Trading Up 4.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($2.13). Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 22.95% and a net margin of 1.98%.The company had revenue of $11.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-14.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Molina Healthcare

In other news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.02, for a total transaction of $51,058.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,623,563.04. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 189.5% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 8,607 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 71.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 80,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,999,000 after acquiring an additional 33,587 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,597,000. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 247.0% in the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 6,803 shares during the period. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth $1,213,000. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

Molina Healthcare, Inc is a managed care company specializing in government-sponsored health insurance programs. The company offers Medicaid managed care plans, Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans, and individual Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act. Through an integrated care model, Molina emphasizes preventive and primary care services, care coordination, and disease management to improve health outcomes for its members.

The company traces its roots to the early 1980s, when Dr.