Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $67.84 and last traded at $67.63, with a volume of 3741318 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRNA shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (up from $69.00) on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday. 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 report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $37.13.

Moderna Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $26.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.17 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. The company’s revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($2.52) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other Moderna news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. The trade was 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 125,088 shares of company stock valued at $6,193,713. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Moderna by 35.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.