Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $54.35, but opened at $58.08. Moderna shares last traded at $57.5630, with a volume of 6,034,963 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRNA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Moderna from a “market perform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore set a $35.00 price objective on Moderna in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Moderna from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price objective on Moderna and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $35.73.

Moderna Trading Down 3.5%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. The firm had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.52) earnings per share. Moderna’s revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total value of $264,951.66. Following the sale, the director owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 160,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.84, for a total value of $7,814,839.56. Following the sale, the president owned 1,457,427 shares in the company, valued at $71,180,734.68. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Moderna by 35.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.