Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Trading 8.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shot up 8.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $44.50 and last traded at $45.05. 8,832,196 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 12,567,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Moderna from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday. HSBC raised Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Moderna from $59.00 to $45.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on Moderna from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Moderna from $112.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.79.

Moderna Trading Up 7.9 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a market cap of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of -7.72 and a beta of 1.60.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.39) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $60,676.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,690.43. The trade was a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 2,664 shares of company stock valued at $115,210 over the last 90 days. 15.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRNA. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 365.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 295.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Moderna by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Moderna by 477.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Moderna by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.