Evercore ISI Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Price

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its price target reduced by analysts at Evercore ISI from $60.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “in-line” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI’s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.44% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on MRNA. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Moderna from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Moderna from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Moderna in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $69.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, November 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.89.

Moderna Price Performance

NASDAQ MRNA traded up $1.53 during trading on Monday, hitting $42.94. 3,965,307 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,226,221. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a PE ratio of -7.39 and a beta of 1.60. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $31.94 and a fifty-two week high of $170.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.89) by $1.92. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 17.68% and a negative net margin of 43.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.39) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Moderna will post -9.27 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 19,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,690.43. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 2,664 shares of company stock valued at $115,210 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 365.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 477.3% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 941 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Moderna in the 3rd quarter worth $80,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.