Short Interest in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) Drops By 16.9%

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 956,100 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the March 31st total of 1,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 400,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Molina Healthcare

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOH. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 2.2% in the first quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Molina Healthcare by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MOH traded down $1.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $342.10. 390,458 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 402,951. The firm has a market cap of $20.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $389.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Molina Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $266.35 and a fifty-two week high of $423.92.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $5.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.46 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.45 billion. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 2.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.81 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MOH. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $453.00 to $412.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Molina Healthcare from $437.00 to $430.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America downgraded Molina Healthcare from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $439.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $410.00 to $375.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Molina Healthcare has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $398.55.

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.