Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Has Average Price Target of $76.72

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.72.

Several research firms have commented on MRNA. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. William Blair started coverage on Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Wolfe Research raised Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. CLSA upgraded Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $4,685,093.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. The trade was a 36.98% 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. Insiders sold a total of 118,882 shares of company stock worth $16,862,280 in the last three months. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRNA. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRNA opened at $203.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Moderna has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $208.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.99. The stock has a market cap of $81.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.46 and a beta of 1.10.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business 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 firm earned ($2.13) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Moderna will post -6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can help prevent or treat disease, supporting the company’s work across infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

Moderna’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.