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

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, an increase of 22.9% from the February 13th total of 1,400,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 727,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Molina Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $339.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Molina Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Molina Healthcare from $382.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.69.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

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

Institutional Trading of Molina Healthcare

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 76.1% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 4,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $544,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Molina Healthcare by 123.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $249,000. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Molina Healthcare Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MOH traded down $3.89 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $313.19. 74,220 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 605,125. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Molina Healthcare has a 12-month low of $262.32 and a 12-month high of $423.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.56.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $5.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.74 by ($0.69). Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 28.13% and a net margin of 2.90%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 EPS for the current 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.