Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Stock Price Down 11.2% – Time to Sell?

Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH) traded down 11.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $203.50 and last traded at $196.8740. Approximately 299,767 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 1,528,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $221.74.

Key Molina Healthcare News

Here are the key news stories impacting Molina Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Molina reported Q2 EPS of $1.51, topping estimates, and revenue of $10.87 billion also came in slightly above Wall Street expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company said its annual profit forecast was lifted as Medicaid trends stabilized, which could support longer-term earnings visibility. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts noted that Q2 sales were broadly in line with expectations, suggesting the quarter was solid but not a major upside surprise on the revenue side. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment weakened after Molina’s revenue outlook disappointed, overshadowing the earnings beat and raising concerns about near-term growth. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters also highlighted concerns around Obamacare and Medicaid businesses, with lower membership and higher medical costs pressuring profitability and driving the stock lower. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MOH. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $159.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Molina Healthcare from $146.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $129.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Friday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Molina Healthcare from $144.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Molina Healthcare from $216.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.06.

Molina Healthcare Trading Down 12.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.72. The company has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.72 and a beta of 0.74.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $10.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.83 billion. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 0.42% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeff D. Barlow sold 17,811 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.12, for a total transaction of $3,314,983.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 67,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,502,611. The trade was a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Maurice Hebert sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $114,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,454,713.25. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOH. Family Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare during the second quarter worth approximately $89,000. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 52.5% during the second quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,549,000 after acquiring an additional 5,339 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Aurora Investment Managers LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 118.9% in the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 38,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,822,000 after acquiring an additional 20,956 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

About Molina Healthcare

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.