Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Price Down 17.6% – Here’s Why

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) traded down 17.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $180.80 and last traded at $202.63. 49,580,747 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 293% from the average session volume of 12,600,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.81.

Key Moderna News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. CLSA upgraded shares of Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Brookline Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Argus raised Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 28th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Moderna from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.95.

Moderna Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $79.89 billion, a PE ratio of -25.04 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $172.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.96.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.13) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $10,374,353.55. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total transaction of $8,640,084.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 1,636,565 shares in the company, valued at $361,222,626.80. The trade was a 2.34% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 197,251 shares of company stock valued at $33,875,904. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aries Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moderna in the 3rd quarter valued at about $385,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moderna during the 3rd quarter valued at about $348,000. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new position in Moderna during the 3rd quarter valued at about $287,000. EULAV Asset Management bought a new position in Moderna in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,873,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Moderna in the 3rd quarter worth about $437,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

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.