Shares in Molina Healthcare Inc. gained 2 percent Wednesday after the company upped its annual earnings forecast.

The Long Beach-based managed healthcare provider upped its earnings guidance for fiscal year 2007 to a range of between $1.85 to $1.95 per share, up from the $1.75 to $1.90 estimate the company projected last month.

This announcement comes less than a week after Molina also said it had acquired a St. Louis-based health insurance company for $74 million. A move many analysts saw as a good move for Molina’s long-term growth.

Shares in Molina were up 2 percent, or 72 cents, to $36.87 in afternoon trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq. Shares are up 28 percent since the beginning of May.