Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $243.00 and last traded at $237.8580, with a volume of 11,413,108 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $226.89.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm is building around Moderna’s oncology pipeline, with attention focused on upcoming melanoma vaccine data and the possibility that its cancer program could become a meaningful long-term growth driver. Moderna Jumps 7% While Melanoma Vaccine Data Looms
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna is expanding its respiratory portfolio with RSV, influenza and combination vaccines, offering potential new revenue streams and reducing reliance on COVID-19 products. A new mRNA flu vaccine is also becoming available to some adults, supporting commercial visibility for the platform. Moderna’s Respiratory Portfolio Expands
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Moderna’s work in artificial intelligence and the future of healthcare reinforces the company’s technology-driven narrative, though the discussion does not identify a specific near-term financial catalyst. Moderna’s Dr. Stephen Hoge on AI and the future of healthcare
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent trading coverage attributes the advance to improving Wall Street sentiment and company-specific catalysts, but provides limited new fundamental information. Why Did MRNA, CVX, V Stocks Jump To 52-Week Highs Today?
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $90 but retained a “hold” rating—far below the current trading level—signaling that the recent rally may have outpaced the firm’s assessment of Moderna’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note intense competition in RSV and flu vaccines, while skeptics warn that enthusiasm surrounding the cancer pipeline may be premature until clinical data and commercialization prospects improve. Moderna: Sell The Cancer Vaccine Hype

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRNA shares. Brookline Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Seven investment 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.95.

Moderna Stock Up 1.5%

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 company has a 50 day moving average of $167.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.16.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.13) EPS. Moderna’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 $10,374,353.55. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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, President Stephen Hoge sold 39,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total value of $8,640,084.40. Following the transaction, the president owned 1,636,565 shares in the company, valued at $361,222,626.80. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904 over the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Moderna during the second quarter worth $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP purchased a new position in Moderna during the second quarter valued at $564,272,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Moderna by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,384,000 after purchasing an additional 103,977 shares during the period. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $161,642,545. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $139,317,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

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 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.