Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Trading 5.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price traded up 5.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $62.73 and last traded at $62.7680. Approximately 1,229,279 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 9,128,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRNA. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $36.60.

Moderna Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.12 and its 200 day moving average is $46.13. The stock has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of -7.41 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.41.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($2.52) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,800.16. This represents a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 125,088 shares of company stock worth $6,193,713. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in Moderna by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 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.