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

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $39.36, but opened at $41.60. Moderna shares last traded at $40.9240, with a volume of 3,414,007 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRNA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $28.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group cut shares of Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Moderna from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $30.36.

Moderna Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.22 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.12.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.15) by $1.64. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 29.81% and a negative net margin of 139.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 45.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moderna news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 23,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $703,186.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,924 shares in the company, valued at $115,679.52. This represents a 85.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Moderna by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Moderna by 2.6% during the second quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 14,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 0.6% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 65,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Moderna by 94.1% in the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in Moderna by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 9,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.