Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $332.38, but opened at $319.93. Molina Healthcare shares last traded at $320.20, with a volume of 133,727 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MOH. Barclays decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $339.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $331.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Molina Healthcare from $376.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Molina Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Molina Healthcare has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $359.42.

Molina Healthcare Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $314.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.93.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $5.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.74 by ($0.69). Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 28.13%. As a group, research analysts predict that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In other Molina Healthcare 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,235,608.75. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 126.3% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 86 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 930.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 103 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 163 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company's stock.

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.