Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Trading Up 11.4% – Here’s Why

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price traded up 11.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $39.11 and last traded at $39.98. 2,436,423 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 11,231,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MRNA shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Moderna from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Moderna from $125.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.58.

Moderna Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of -6.77 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Moderna had a negative net margin of 43.77% and a negative return on equity of 17.68%. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.39) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $60,676.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,717 shares in the company, valued at $843,690.43. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,664 shares of company stock worth $115,210 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Moderna by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,847,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,125,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,276 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,069,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,670,000 after acquiring an additional 178,115 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 21.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,224,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,166,000 after acquiring an additional 906,114 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moderna by 0.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,890,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,023,000 after acquiring an additional 19,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Moderna by 6.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,073,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,431,000 after purchasing an additional 178,939 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Moderna

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.