Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Up 4.5% – Here’s Why

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price traded up 4.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.50 and last traded at $41.16. 1,823,836 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 5,115,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MRNA shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Moderna from $125.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Moderna in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. HSBC upgraded Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Moderna from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.50.

Moderna Stock Up 5.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a current ratio of 4.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of -7.14 and a beta of 1.58.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.89) by $1.92. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Moderna had a negative net margin of 43.77% and a negative return on equity of 17.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.39) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $60,676.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,690.43. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $42,985.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $571,440.60. This represents a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,379 shares of company stock valued at $158,195 over the last ninety days. 15.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Moderna by 230.4% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 413 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Moderna by 1,753.1% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers, develops, and commercializes messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Its respiratory vaccines include COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, spikevax, and hMPV/PIV3 vaccines; latent vaccines comprise cytomegalovirus, epstein-barr virus, herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines; public health vaccines consists of Zika, Nipah, Mpox vaccines; and infectious diseases vaccines, such as lyme and norovirus vaccines.