Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Falls 1.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) fell 1.2% on Friday. The company traded as low as $183.00 and last traded at $200.10. Approximately 21,427,765 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 70% from the average session volume of 12,638,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.63.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported positive Phase 3 INTerpath-001 results for the personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, used with Keytruda. The treatment reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42%, while also improving distant metastasis-free survival. Oncologists described the findings as a major advance in melanoma care. Nature article
• Positive Sentiment: The results strengthen the case for Moderna’s oncology pipeline and could support a major future revenue stream beyond COVID-19 vaccines, particularly if additional trials demonstrate benefits in other cancers. Moderna has also advanced its mRNA bird-flu vaccine into a late-stage trial, adding another potential pipeline catalyst. Bird flu vaccine trial article
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna’s recent addition to the Nasdaq-100 and analyst support provide structural and sentiment benefits, but these factors have less immediate influence than the cancer-vaccine readout. The stock had already posted an exceptionally strong rally, leaving the valuation highly sensitive to new clinical information. Nasdaq-100 inclusion article
• Negative Sentiment: Partial trial data appeared on social media ahead of Moderna and Merck’s planned ESMO presentation, triggering extreme volatility and a sharp selloff. The premature release disrupted the expected news event and encouraged a “sell-the-news” reaction. CNBC data leak article
• Negative Sentiment: Although clinically meaningful, the 42% reduction fell short of the market’s very high expectations after Moderna’s dramatic run-up. Investors also questioned whether the results will translate beyond melanoma, how quickly the product could reach the market, and its eventual commercial opportunity. The breach of near-term technical support and heightened trading swings add further pressure. Zacks analysis

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore raised their target price on Moderna from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Brookline Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, CLSA upgraded Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.95.

Moderna Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $172.79 and its 200 day moving average is $96.96. The firm has a market cap of $79.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.04 and a beta of 1.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.13) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, CFO Jamey Mock sold 34,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares in the company, valued at $7,985,343.75. This represents a 36.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 197,251 shares of company stock valued at $33,875,904 in the last ninety days. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRNA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter valued at $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $564,272,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 103,977 shares during the last quarter. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $161,642,545. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $139,317,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Moderna

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 stimulate immune responses or support the treatment of disease. The company’s research programs span infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions and other therapeutic areas.

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.