Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $40.00 to $77.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 48.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MRNA. William Blair raised shares of Moderna from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, July 20th. Brookline Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, June 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.50.

Moderna Trading Up 11.5%

Shares of Moderna stock traded up $15.27 on Friday, hitting $148.59. The stock had a trading volume of 53,297,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,627,732. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Moderna has a one year low of $22.28 and a one year high of $176.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.47. The stock has a market cap of $59.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.60 and a beta of 0.91.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($2.13) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moderna will post -6.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% 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. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in Moderna in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moderna in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported that their personalized mRNA therapy, intismeran, combined with Keytruda, met the primary and key secondary endpoints in the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 melanoma trial. The treatment improved recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free outcomes in high-risk patients, supporting hopes that Moderna can expand beyond its COVID-19 vaccine business. MRK/MRNA’s Personalized Cancer Therapy Delivers First Phase III Win
• Positive Sentiment: The trial success has led analysts to assign substantial value to Moderna’s oncology platform. Jefferies estimated potential global peak sales of up to $54 billion for the therapy and raised its price target to $170, while William Blair upgraded the stock to Outperform. Moderna oncology platform draws Street value after melanoma trial win
• Positive Sentiment: The news triggered heavy short covering, reportedly creating billions of dollars in mark-to-market losses for short sellers and contributing to unusually high trading volume. The rally also renewed interest in the broader mRNA sector. Moderna short-sellers stare at record one-day loss as shares surge on vaccine data
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised Moderna to Neutral, while William Blair upgraded it to Outperform. The mixed ratings reflect optimism about the clinical opportunity but uncertainty over valuation, regulatory approval, launch timing and the amount of future growth already reflected in the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Trading has whipsawed as investors take profits and debate whether the melanoma opportunity is overhyped. There is no additional clinical data today, leaving the stock vulnerable to further volatility after its extraordinary recent advance. Moderna’s personalized mRNA shot could reshape the fight against skin cancer
• Negative Sentiment: High-volume put-option purchases indicate that some traders are positioning for a pullback, underscoring elevated downside risk despite the positive fundamental catalyst.

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.