Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Trading Up 11% – What’s Next?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares shot up 11% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $154.27 and last traded at $154.1420. 7,916,636 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 10,958,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.89.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported positive Phase 3 INTerpath-001 results for intismeran autogene, an individualized neoantigen mRNA therapy used with Keytruda in patients with resected melanoma. The result was described as the first positive late-stage readout showing an mRNA cancer vaccine improving on Keytruda alone, strengthening confidence in Moderna’s technology and long-term commercial opportunity. Cancer Vaccine Breakthrough Lifts 5 Biotech Names
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have upgraded Moderna following the oncology data, while management has highlighted substantial potential for intismeran autogene. The analyst support is helping Moderna outperform other mRNA-focused biotech names and the broader sector. Moderna Stock Edges Higher Tuesday: What’s Happening?
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna’s shares are moving independently of BioNTech and other biotech stocks, suggesting the market is specifically rewarding the company’s cancer-vaccine readout rather than making a broad mRNA trade. Moderna Rallies 11%, BioNTech Ticks Up
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about profit-taking after Moderna’s sharp rally, the lack of an immediate new clinical or regulatory catalyst, development and commercialization risks, competition, and threats from China’s growing biotechnology investment. These factors could contribute to continued volatility. Myriad Genetics and Moderna Shares Plummet

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their price target on Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Brookline Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moderna has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.31.

Moderna Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $62.71 billion, a PE ratio of -19.63 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.87.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.13) EPS. Analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm’s 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 trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,142,877,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 6,698.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 27,681,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,523,000 after acquiring an additional 27,274,128 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 4th quarter valued at about $378,299,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $564,272,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter worth about $95,209,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.