Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Down 7.8% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) were down 7.8% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $208.92 and last traded at $218.01. 21,311,051 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 73% from the average daily volume of 12,344,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.50.

Specifically, President Stephen Hoge sold 39,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total transaction of $8,640,084.40. Following the sale, the president owned 1,636,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,222,626.80. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 39,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.48, for a total transaction of $8,373,539.52. Following the transaction, the president owned 1,599,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $341,409,597.84. This trade represents a 2.39% 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRNA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, September 25th. Argus upgraded Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Moderna from $77.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Moderna from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Singular Research upgraded Moderna to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm remains centered on Moderna’s upcoming personalized cancer-vaccine data, particularly melanoma results expected next week. The catalyst helped drive the recent rally and keeps the company’s oncology pipeline in focus. Moderna falls ahead of cancer vaccine data next week
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck’s earlier cancer-vaccine progress continues to support optimism about the companies’ oncology strategy, although additional development work is still required. Merck and Moderna cancer vaccine strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $137 from $120 while retaining a Neutral rating. The increase acknowledges Moderna’s momentum, but the target remains well below the stock’s recent trading level. Goldman raises Moderna price target
• Negative Sentiment: After gaining sharply on cancer-vaccine expectations, Moderna is experiencing profit-taking as investors reassess whether the rally has moved ahead of near-term fundamentals. Analysts have highlighted the company’s continuing losses, negative free cash flow, and valuation sensitivity to successful pipeline execution. Moderna stock sinks as Wall Street turns cautious
• Negative Sentiment: The selloff is also affecting vaccine developers broadly, with Novavax under heavier pressure and other vaccine stocks weakening. This sector-wide risk reduction is adding to selling pressure on MRNA. Selloff hits vaccine makers

Moderna Stock Down 7.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $87.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $153.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.98.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($2.13) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth approximately $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $564,272,000. Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $161,642,545. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $139,317,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $119,168,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 help prevent or treat disease, supporting the company’s work across infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

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.