Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $288.72, but opened at $318.00. Molina Healthcare shares last traded at $328.52, with a volume of 188,005 shares traded.

The company reported $5.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.73 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 2.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.65 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MOH shares. Baird R W upgraded Molina Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America cut shares of Molina Healthcare from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $439.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $405.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Molina Healthcare from $375.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $354.00 to $297.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.55.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In other Molina Healthcare news, COO James Woys sold 10,000 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.15, for a total value of $3,451,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 53,613 shares in the company, valued at $18,504,526.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ronna Romney sold 250 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.27, for a total value of $85,817.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,816,710.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO James Woys sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.15, for a total transaction of $3,451,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 53,613 shares in the company, valued at $18,504,526.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $128,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,145,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Molina Healthcare Trading Up 13.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $307.61 and its 200 day moving average is $353.85.

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.