Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $174.38, but opened at $150.14. Moderna shares last traded at $137.7820, with a volume of 22,809,089 shares trading hands.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are assigning substantial commercial potential to the cancer program. Jefferies reportedly estimates as much as $54 billion in peak global sales and raised its price target to $170, while coverage highlighted the possibility that the trial could establish an oncology opportunity comparable to Merck’s Keytruda franchise. Jefferies sees $54 billion peak sales for Moderna cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: The favorable Phase 3 outcome has triggered analyst upgrades, including William Blair moving Moderna to Outperform and Bank of America raising its rating to Neutral. The stock also reached a new 12-month high amid renewed enthusiasm for mRNA-based cancer treatments. Moderna raised to Outperform at William Blair
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading has been exceptionally volatile for a third consecutive session. Analysts attribute the sharp swings partly to heavy short interest and a subsequent short squeeze, while options activity suggests elevated volatility may persist even without new clinical information. Moderna rallies as mRNA trading whipsaws
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns remain significant after the recent surge. JPMorgan raised its price target to $77 but retained an Underweight rating, implying substantial downside from current levels. Commentary also cautioned that the clinical success does not eliminate development, regulatory, manufacturing, commercialization, and pipeline risks for Moderna or other mRNA companies. JPMorgan raises Moderna price target but keeps Underweight rating

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRNA shares. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday. William Blair upgraded Moderna from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. Brookline Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Moderna Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.13) EPS. Analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% 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. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $2,142,877,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at $378,299,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $564,272,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Moderna during the 4th quarter worth $95,209,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moderna during the 4th quarter worth about $79,707,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently 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.