Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

MRNA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moderna from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moderna presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.50.

Moderna Stock Up 8.8%

MRNA stock opened at $145.07 on Wednesday. Moderna has a 52 week low of $22.28 and a 52 week high of $176.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.10. 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 market cap of $57.92 billion, a PE ratio of -18.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced 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. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.13) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moderna will post -6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% 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. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in Moderna by 9.1% in the second quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 2.6% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $226,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 49.9% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 3,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 56,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,924,000 after acquiring an additional 5,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are assigning substantial commercial potential to the cancer program. Jefferies reportedly estimates as much as $54 billion in peak global sales and raised its price target to $170, while coverage highlighted the possibility that the trial could establish an oncology opportunity comparable to Merck’s Keytruda franchise. Jefferies sees $54 billion peak sales for Moderna cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: The favorable Phase 3 outcome has triggered analyst upgrades, including William Blair moving Moderna to Outperform and Bank of America raising its rating to Neutral. The stock also reached a new 12-month high amid renewed enthusiasm for mRNA-based cancer treatments. Moderna raised to Outperform at William Blair
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading has been exceptionally volatile for a third consecutive session. Analysts attribute the sharp swings partly to heavy short interest and a subsequent short squeeze, while options activity suggests elevated volatility may persist even without new clinical information. Moderna rallies as mRNA trading whipsaws
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns remain significant after the recent surge. JPMorgan raised its price target to $77 but retained an Underweight rating, implying substantial downside from current levels. Commentary also cautioned that the clinical success does not eliminate development, regulatory, manufacturing, commercialization, and pipeline risks for Moderna or other mRNA companies. JPMorgan raises Moderna price target but keeps Underweight rating

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.