Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Up 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shot up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $148.93 and last traded at $145.62. 8,791,650 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 11,582,562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRNA. CLSA raised shares of Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moderna has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.72.

Moderna Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.18. The stock has a market cap of $58.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($2.13) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other Moderna news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $4,685,093.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,882 shares of company stock valued at $16,862,280. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRNA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $564,272,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Moderna in the 4th quarter valued at $378,299,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,384,000 after buying an additional 103,977 shares during the period. Finally, Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $161,642,545. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines and vaccines. Its platform is designed to provide cells with instructions to produce proteins that may help prevent or treat infectious diseases, cancer and other medical conditions.

The company’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults. Moderna also maintains a pipeline of investigational programs in areas such as seasonal influenza, cytomegalovirus, oncology and rare diseases.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Moderna serves markets in the United States and internationally through regulatory approvals, commercial partnerships and distribution arrangements.