Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) Short Interest Down 19.6% in March

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a decrease of 19.6% from the March 15th total of 1,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 381,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Molina Healthcare

In other Molina Healthcare news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.05, for a total value of $401,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,494,567.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Mark Lowell Keim sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.56, for a total transaction of $5,798,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 36,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,121,423.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.05, for a total transaction of $401,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,567.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,711 shares of company stock valued at $6,472,517 in the last three months. 1.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MOH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,449,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,151,448,000 after buying an additional 1,001,372 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $275,143,000. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at $214,363,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 151.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 893,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,128,000 after buying an additional 538,493 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,457,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,633,000 after buying an additional 501,107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of MOH stock traded down $15.72 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $360.85. 839,489 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,040. Molina Healthcare has a 1 year low of $266.35 and a 1 year high of $423.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $395.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.47.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 3.20%. The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Molina Healthcare will post 23.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MOH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Molina Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Molina Healthcare from $440.00 to $410.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Molina Healthcare from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays began coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $437.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Molina Healthcare from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Molina Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $393.09.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

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.