Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Moderna Call Options (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 98,186 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 79% compared to the typical daily volume of 54,997 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRNA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Moderna from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 target price on Moderna and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $36.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In related news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total value of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 125,088 shares of company stock valued at $6,193,713. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 498,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,706,000 after acquiring an additional 125,598 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Moderna by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,291,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,085,000 after purchasing an additional 163,031 shares during the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $897,000. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in Moderna by 22.1% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 215,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,577,000 after purchasing an additional 39,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp bought a new stake in Moderna during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $907,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of MRNA traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $63.76. 12,581,866 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,106,316. The company has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.84 and a beta of 1.05. Moderna has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $67.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.52) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Moderna will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FDA advisers voted in favor of Moderna’s flu vaccine for adults 50 and older, a key step that boosts approval odds and strengthens the investment case. Article: US FDA advisers vote in favor of Moderna’s flu vaccine
• Positive Sentiment: Shares have extended a rally as investors focus on the flu vaccine review and broader pipeline optimism, including Moderna’s investor-day catalysts. Article: Moderna (MRNA) Soars 11% Ahead of Investor Day
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options trading showed heavy call buying, which suggests traders are betting on further upside in MRNA.
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna plans to host its Science Day on June 25, which could provide another catalyst if management shares encouraging pipeline updates. Article: Moderna to Host Investor Event – Science Day
• Negative Sentiment: President Stephen Hoge sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, which may create a modest overhang even though it does not necessarily reflect changing fundamentals. Article: Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) President Sells $2,739,870.32 in 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.