Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) to “Hold”

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) was upgraded by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

MOH has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Molina Healthcare from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America upgraded Molina Healthcare from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on Molina Healthcare from $161.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Molina Healthcare from $141.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.81.

Molina Healthcare Trading Down 0.6%

MOH stock opened at $196.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 58.04 and a beta of 0.80. Molina Healthcare has a one year low of $121.06 and a one year high of $311.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $182.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.78. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 0.42% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000- EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Molina Healthcare will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Molina Healthcare news, insider Jeff D. Barlow sold 17,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.12, for a total value of $3,314,983.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 67,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,502,611. This trade represents a 20.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $114,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,815 shares in the company, valued at $2,454,713.25. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Molina Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the first quarter worth $210,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 33.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 713.3% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 19.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 249,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,172,000 after buying an additional 40,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the first quarter worth approximately $1,541,000. 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.