Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 888,400 shares, a decline of 24.1% from the October 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 622,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Custom Index Systems LLC increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 5.0% during the second quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 3.4% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Molina Healthcare by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 2,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 3.3% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of MOH traded down $11.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $294.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 694,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,641. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $16.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.59. Molina Healthcare has a 1-year low of $272.69 and a 1-year high of $423.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $326.23.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $6.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.96 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.92 billion. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare will post 23.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $354.00 to $353.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $412.00 to $351.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $360.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Molina Healthcare from $354.00 to $297.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Molina Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.17.

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.