Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $73.91 and last traded at $72.50, with a volume of 9227509 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRNA shares. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $37.13.

Moderna Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $28.77 billion, a PE ratio of -8.90 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.51.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.02) by ($0.38). Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The business had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $236.37 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.52) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total value of $264,951.66. Following the sale, the director owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $562,637.58. The trade was a 32.01% 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. Insiders sold 125,088 shares of company stock worth $6,193,713 over the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in Moderna in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Moderna by 3,775.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Moderna by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

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.