Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Down 6.8% – Here’s Why

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares fell 6.8% on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $250.49 and last traded at $250.83. Approximately 11,102,965 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 12,638,438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $269.00.

Moderna News Roundup

Here’s some of the latest news about MRNA:

• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s Analyst Day also covered commercial growth, manufacturing readiness and mid-term financial objectives, but the investment case depends on translating pipeline progress into meaningful sales. Article: Moderna Outlines Next Phase of Growth
• Negative Sentiment: The main near-term concern is that the raised 2026 outlook may still be below analyst expectations, raising the risk of a future sales shortfall. That concern appears to be outweighing the improved guidance. Article: Why Moderna Stock Dropped on Thursday
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna plans to reinvest in its pipeline, especially oncology. That could support future growth, but raises the stakes if clinical advances do not become commercially successful products. Article: Moderna Needs a Post-Covid Hit

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRNA has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moderna from $137.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank began coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $305.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Moderna from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.75.

Moderna Trading Down 7.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $93.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.58 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $198.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.62 and a quick ratio of 3.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $1.48. Moderna had a negative net margin of 110.46% and a negative return on equity of 25.79%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $890.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.51) earnings per share. Moderna’s revenue was up 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -5.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total transaction of $5,807,574.22. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,525,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,921,913.54. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 business’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 transaction, the insider owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRNA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter worth $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $564,272,000. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 6,931.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,054,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,311 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 103,977 shares during the period. Finally, Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $161,642,545. Institutional investors 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 help prevent or treat disease. The company’s commercial products include Spikevax, a vaccine against COVID-19, and mRESVIA, a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Moderna also researches potential mRNA-based vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases, cancer, and rare diseases. Founded in 2010 as Moderna Therapeutics, the company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.