Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 2,749,010 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the previous session’s volume of 5,247,541 shares.The stock last traded at $47.40 and had previously closed at $42.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRNA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Moderna from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.50.

Moderna Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.48. The stock has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.12 and a beta of 1.60.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.89) by $1.92. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.39) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $60,676.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,690.43. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,664 shares of company stock valued at $115,210 in the last three months. 15.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 91.1% in the third quarter. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC now owns 51,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after buying an additional 24,505 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the third quarter valued at $3,550,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Moderna by 341.3% in the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 49,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 38,400 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,614,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,885,000 after buying an additional 167,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 148.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 116,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,758,000 after buying an additional 69,313 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.