Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Trading 8.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s stock price traded up 8.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $49.13 and last traded at $49.3320. 3,375,563 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 9,251,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price objective on Moderna in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $35.73.

Moderna Stock Up 5.2%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.96 and its 200 day moving average is $43.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $20.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.33 and a beta of 1.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($2.52) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other Moderna news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $433,878.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $183,800.16. This trade represents a 70.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 68,281 shares of company stock valued at $3,280,293 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRNA. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 3,775.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Company Profile

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.