Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Up 3.6% – Time to Buy?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price traded up 3.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $143.74 and last traded at $145.3960. Approximately 2,427,647 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 11,434,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.34.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported encouraging late-stage results for their personalized melanoma vaccine, strengthening expectations that the treatment could become a significant new growth opportunity and expand Moderna’s oncology business. Moderna Stock More Than Doubled in August
• Positive Sentiment: The melanoma-vaccine success, combined with U.S. regulatory approval for Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine, helped drive a major August rally and is keeping investor attention focused on the company’s broader product pipeline. Moderna Soars in August
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst L. Cann of Brookline Capital Markets retained a “Buy” rating, with long-term earnings forecasts still calling for a shift from losses in the current year to projected profitability in 2029 and 2030. Brookline Capital Markets Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna plans to present at the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference on September 14 and the Bernstein Healthcare Forum on September 23. The events could provide updates on its pipeline, commercial outlook and finances, but no new operating results were announced. Moderna to Present at Upcoming Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts recently gave Moderna an average “Hold” rating, highlighting that the stock’s sharp rally has raised valuation and execution concerns despite improving pipeline prospects. Moderna Receives Average Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: GSK is advancing its own mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine into Phase III testing, creating a potential future competitor shortly after Moderna received approval for the first seasonal flu mRNA vaccine. GSK Advances mRNA Flu Vaccine
• Negative Sentiment: Brookline Capital Markets modestly lowered its 2029 and 2030 EPS estimates, suggesting some caution about the pace of Moderna’s long-term earnings recovery, even while maintaining its Buy rating. Moderna Earnings Estimate Changes

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRNA. Wolfe Research upgraded Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.53.

Moderna Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $59.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.69 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.54.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.13) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Moderna by 2.6% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position in Moderna by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Moderna by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. The company’s platform leverages synthetic mRNA to instruct cells to produce proteins that can prevent or treat diseases. Since its founding in 2010, Moderna has advanced from early-stage research into a broad pipeline of vaccine and therapeutic candidates designed to address infectious diseases, rare genetic disorders and chronic illnesses.

Moderna’s flagship product is its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, which was the first of its kind to receive emergency use authorization and later full approval in multiple jurisdictions.