Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after William Blair upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. The stock traded as high as $118.43 and last traded at $116.7680, with a volume of 19443604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.96.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on MRNA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Moderna from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Moderna from $49.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Moderna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $42.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares in the company, 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 is accessible 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, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,800.16. This represents a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 66,070 shares of company stock worth $3,347,299 in the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Landmark melanoma trial succeeded: Moderna and Merck said their Phase 3 INTerpath-001 study met its primary endpoint for recurrence-free survival and its key endpoint for distant metastasis-free survival. The individualized mRNA-based neoantigen therapy, intismeran autogene (V940/mRNA-4157), combined with Merck’s KEYTRUDA, reduced the risk of melanoma returning or spreading compared with KEYTRUDA alone in patients with completely resected, high-risk Stage IIB-IV melanoma. This is the first positive late-stage trial for an mRNA cancer vaccine and significantly strengthens Moderna’s oncology pipeline. Reuters: Merck, Moderna say melanoma skin cancer vaccine meets goals in large trial
• Positive Sentiment: Potentially important commercial opportunity: Investors view the positive Phase 3 results as validation of Moderna’s personalized cancer-vaccine platform and a possible future source of substantial oncology revenue. The companies plan to provide additional data at a medical meeting and discuss regulatory submissions, although the treatment remains investigational. CNBC: Personalized cancer vaccine from Moderna, Merck shows promise in first late-stage melanoma trial
• Positive Sentiment: First FDA-approved mRNA flu vaccine: The FDA approved Moderna’s mFLUSIVA (mRNA-1010), giving the company a commercial product in seasonal influenza and expanding its respiratory-vaccine portfolio. The launch could support future growth, though market adoption, competition with conventional flu shots and seasonal strain-selection timing remain important execution risks. FDA Approves Moderna’s mFLUSIVA
• Neutral Sentiment: The melanoma announcement consists of positive topline results; investors still await detailed efficacy, safety and durability data, as well as regulatory review and approval. Moderna continues to report losses, so the stock’s valuation will depend on whether these pipeline successes translate into sustained sales and improved profitability.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Moderna by 148.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moderna Trading Up 99.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $50.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.04 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.13) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.2 EPS for the current year.

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.