Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Trading 3.6% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares were up 3.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $143.74 and last traded at $145.3960. Approximately 2,427,647 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 11,434,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.34.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported encouraging late-stage results for their personalized melanoma vaccine, strengthening expectations that the treatment could become a significant new growth opportunity and expand Moderna’s oncology business. Moderna Stock More Than Doubled in August
• Positive Sentiment: The melanoma-vaccine success, combined with U.S. regulatory approval for Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine, helped drive a major August rally and is keeping investor attention focused on the company’s broader product pipeline. Moderna Soars in August
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst L. Cann of Brookline Capital Markets retained a “Buy” rating, with long-term earnings forecasts still calling for a shift from losses in the current year to projected profitability in 2029 and 2030. Brookline Capital Markets Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna plans to present at the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference on September 14 and the Bernstein Healthcare Forum on September 23. The events could provide updates on its pipeline, commercial outlook and finances, but no new operating results were announced. Moderna to Present at Upcoming Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts recently gave Moderna an average “Hold” rating, highlighting that the stock’s sharp rally has raised valuation and execution concerns despite improving pipeline prospects. Moderna Receives Average Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: GSK is advancing its own mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine into Phase III testing, creating a potential future competitor shortly after Moderna received approval for the first seasonal flu mRNA vaccine. GSK Advances mRNA Flu Vaccine
• Negative Sentiment: Brookline Capital Markets modestly lowered its 2029 and 2030 EPS estimates, suggesting some caution about the pace of Moderna’s long-term earnings recovery, even while maintaining its Buy rating. Moderna Earnings Estimate Changes

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRNA. Bank of America upgraded shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.53.

Moderna Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a market cap of $59.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.69 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.54.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,142,877,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 6,698.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 27,681,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,523,000 after purchasing an additional 27,274,128 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 4th quarter valued at $378,299,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $564,272,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter worth $95,209,000. 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.