Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Price Target Raised to $137.00

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its price target upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $120.00 to $137.00 in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MRNA. Brookline Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Moderna from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of MRNA opened at $218.01 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. Moderna has a 52-week low of $22.28 and a 52-week high of $242.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.13) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Moderna will post -6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In related news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total transaction of $485,766.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 39,145 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total transaction of $8,640,084.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 1,636,565 shares in the company, valued at $361,222,626.80. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Moderna in the second quarter worth about $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $564,272,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Moderna by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,384,000 after acquiring an additional 103,977 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,392,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,549,000 after acquiring an additional 891,072 shares during the period. Finally, Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $161,642,545. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming melanoma and other cancer-vaccine data remain the main bullish catalyst. Earlier positive results from Moderna’s personalized cancer-vaccine collaboration with Merck have increased expectations that new data could support the pipeline and help sustain the stock’s gains. Merck and Moderna cancer vaccine strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest has also been supported by strong momentum, healthcare-sector fund flows and optimism that Moderna’s pipeline could diversify the business beyond COVID-19 vaccines. Moderna rallies as money rotates into healthcare
• Neutral Sentiment: President Stephen Hoge sold a combined 78,369 shares in transactions conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although the sales may weigh on sentiment, they represented only a small portion of his remaining holdings and were not discretionary trades made during the current move. Moderna insider trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: A study comparing the stability of three mRNA vaccines in human blood may provide useful scientific context for the platform, but it does not appear to offer an immediate change to Moderna’s revenue outlook or valuation. mRNA vaccine stability study
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking has intensified after Moderna became one of the market’s strongest performers, with analysts cautioning that the stock’s valuation now depends heavily on successful pipeline execution. Goldman Sachs raised its target to $137 but retained a Neutral rating, leaving the target substantially below recent trading levels. Moderna valuation debate
• Negative Sentiment: The broader selloff in vaccine stocks, including declines in Novavax and BioNTech, has added sector-wide pressure. Investors are also wary of Moderna’s continuing losses and negative cash flow while awaiting the cancer-data catalyst. Vaccine-stock selloff

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can help prevent or treat disease, supporting the company’s work across infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

Moderna’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.