Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $143.36, but opened at $147.75. Molina Healthcare shares last traded at $142.6010, with a volume of 343,540 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $164.00 to $133.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Molina Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.21.

Molina Healthcare Trading Up 4.2%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $146.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($2.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($3.18). The company had revenue of $11.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 billion. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 1.04%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.05 EPS. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000- EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 24.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Molina Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 139,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,706,000 after purchasing an additional 36,831 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 359.7% during the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 20,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,905,000 after purchasing an additional 15,969 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 289.3% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 8,721 shares in the last quarter. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Molina Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,709,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 245.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 80,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,425,000 after purchasing an additional 57,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.