Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, an increase of 22.9% from the February 13th total of 1,400,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 727,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE MOH opened at $314.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $298.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. Molina Healthcare has a 52-week low of $262.32 and a 52-week high of $423.92.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $5.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.74 by ($0.69). Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 28.13%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.33, for a total transaction of $301,330.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,235,608.75. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOH. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $766,111,000 after buying an additional 181,073 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,614,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $900,787,000 after acquiring an additional 13,001 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,801,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,214,000 after purchasing an additional 427,276 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,144,000 after purchasing an additional 34,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,327,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,229,000 after purchasing an additional 294,180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Molina Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (down from $378.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $339.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Molina Healthcare from $374.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.69.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

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.