Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Down 2.6% – What’s Next?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) traded down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $150.26 and last traded at $154.0310. Approximately 20,214,225 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 73% from the average session volume of 11,670,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.07.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm remains high following positive late-stage results for intismeran autogene, Moderna’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine being developed with Merck alongside Keytruda. The results have strengthened expectations that oncology could become a major growth engine and reduce the company’s dependence on COVID-19 vaccines. Moderna cancer vaccine rally article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets have added momentum to MRNA, as Wall Street reassesses Moderna’s pipeline beyond its declining COVID-19 franchise. Coverage described the stock’s advance as part of a month-long cancer-vaccine rally. Why Moderna shares are soaring
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent gains have occurred without a new company disclosure, suggesting trading is being driven largely by investor sentiment, analyst commentary and momentum rather than a newly announced commercial or regulatory milestone. The sharp run-up increases the risk of further volatility and profit-taking. Moderna cancer vaccine momentum article
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares for approximately $5.8 million on September 14 and separately sold 40,281 shares for approximately $5.9 million on September 15. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, which limits their significance as discretionary bearish signals, but the sales may still weigh on sentiment. Moderna insider selling article
• Negative Sentiment: Although the latest quarterly revenue exceeded expectations and the EPS loss was narrower than forecast, Moderna remains unprofitable. Analysts continue to debate whether the cancer pipeline can justify the stock’s elevated valuation after its substantial recovery.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRNA. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Bradesco Corretora raised shares of Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.72.

Moderna Trading Down 2.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $61.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.28 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $98.00 and its 200 day moving average is $69.58.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.13) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $4,685,093.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total transaction of $485,766.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. This represents a 4.47% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 118,882 shares of company stock valued at $16,862,280 in the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $564,272,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Moderna in the 4th quarter worth $378,299,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Moderna by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,384,000 after acquiring an additional 103,977 shares during the period. Finally, Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $161,642,545. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines and vaccines. Its platform is designed to provide cells with instructions to produce proteins that may help prevent or treat infectious diseases, cancer and other medical conditions.

The company’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults. Moderna also maintains a pipeline of investigational programs in areas such as seasonal influenza, cytomegalovirus, oncology and rare diseases.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Moderna serves markets in the United States and internationally through regulatory approvals, commercial partnerships and distribution arrangements.