Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Cut to Hold at Wells Fargo & Company

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $109.00 price target on Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $175.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $224.00 price target on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.86.

Molina Healthcare Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of MOH opened at $150.88 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.80. Molina Healthcare has a 12-month low of $121.06 and a 12-month high of $359.97. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.49.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($2.75) earnings per share 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 net margin of 1.04% and a return on equity of 13.60%. Molina Healthcare’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.05 earnings per share. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Molina Healthcare news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.02, for a total transaction of $51,058.14. Following the sale, the director owned 11,352 shares in the company, valued at $1,623,563.04. This represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Miller Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 211.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 2,140.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 112 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.