Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Trading 5.8% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shot up 5.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $62.73 and last traded at $62.7680. Approximately 1,229,279 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 9,128,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRNA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Moderna from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $36.60.

Moderna Stock Up 4.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.59 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.63.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 260.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.52) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,800.16. The trade was a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 125,088 shares of company stock valued at $6,193,713. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 35.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Encore Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the first quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moderna in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moderna

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.