MPLN - MultiPlan stock falls 9% amid Goldman starting coverage with Neutral rating

MultiPlan ( NYSE: MPLN ) stock fell ~9% amid Goldman Sachs initiating coverage of the company with a Neutral rating and $6.50 price target.

Goldman Analyst Cindy Motz also began coverage on Allscripts Healthcare Solutions ( MDRX ) with a Neutral rating, and HealthEquity ( HQY ) with a Sell rating.

Motz said that overall the firm believes that all three are  interesting companies and they help in addressing the fundamental driver of lowering costs, which is important in the current environment. But the firm is waiting on getting more clarity on current issues which include, recent divestitures, new management strategy, contract negotiations, higher debt, lower than expected longer-term growth estimates versus consensus, before becoming more constructive,

The SA Quant Rating on MPLN is Strong Buy , which takes into account factors such as growth and profitability, among others things. Meanwhile, the average Wall Street Analysts' Rating on the stock is Buy .

For the Healthcare Technology sector as a whole the analyst noted that stock performance has continued to be volatile, down on average 20% YTD, (compared to the S&P 500 which has declined ~ 18%).

The analyst added that there is wide disparity within the segment too with some stocks YTD down ~60% and others up ~ 40%.

YTD, MultiPlan — which provides data analytics and technology-enabled cost management and payment solutions — stock has gained +9.8% , which is much higher compared to the broader market SPY and some of its peers. See chart here .

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