Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Jumps 1.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shot up 1.5% during trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $90.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Moderna traded as high as $254.48 and last traded at $245.81. 15,908,386 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average session volume of 12,407,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $242.08.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Argus upgraded Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 28th. Bradesco Corretora raised Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Moderna from $77.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. CLSA upgraded Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.95.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other Moderna news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $4,685,093.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 39,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total value of $8,640,084.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 1,636,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,222,626.80. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest is being driven by Moderna’s oncology pipeline, particularly its personalized melanoma vaccine program being developed with Merck. Upcoming cancer data and an ESMO 2026 presentation are viewed as potential catalysts, increasing expectations that oncology could eventually offset declining COVID-19 demand. Forget COVID: Moderna Is Turning Into a Cancer Company
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna is expanding its respiratory portfolio with RSV, influenza and combination vaccines. A newly available mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50 and older provides evidence of commercial progress and could help diversify revenue beyond COVID-19 products. Moderna’s Respiratory Portfolio Expands
• Positive Sentiment: Oddo BHF raised its Moderna price target to $251 from $170, reflecting improved sentiment toward the company’s pipeline and growth prospects. Oddo BHF Adjusts Moderna Price Target

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP purchased a new position in Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $564,272,000. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth about $161,642,545. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth about $139,317,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth about $119,168,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moderna Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $163.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $98.14 billion, a PE ratio of -30.76 and a beta of 1.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.13) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can stimulate immune responses or support the treatment of disease. The company’s research programs span infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions and other therapeutic areas.

Moderna’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.