Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Up 12.3% – Time to Buy?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s stock price was up 12.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $176.86 and last traded at $172.94. 20,940,979 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 79% from the average session volume of 11,711,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRNA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bradesco Corretora upgraded Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America raised Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moderna presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.72.

Moderna Trading Up 12.3%

The company has a market cap of $69.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.64 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $99.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued 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. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.13) EPS. Moderna’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $4,685,093.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 118,882 shares of company stock valued at $16,862,280 over the last 90 days. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 17.0% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 7,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moderna by 208.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Moderna by 149.3% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 7,137 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $243,000. Finally, Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $268,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines and vaccines. Its platform is designed to provide cells with instructions to produce proteins that may help prevent or treat infectious diseases, cancer and other medical conditions.

The company’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults. Moderna also maintains a pipeline of investigational programs in areas such as seasonal influenza, cytomegalovirus, oncology and rare diseases.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Moderna serves markets in the United States and internationally through regulatory approvals, commercial partnerships and distribution arrangements.