Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $150.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. 13,415,396 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 10,399,490 shares.The stock last traded at $148.35 and had previously closed at $133.32.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MRNA. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 53,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% 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. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported that their personalized mRNA therapy, intismeran, combined with Keytruda, met the primary recurrence-free-survival endpoint and the key distant-metastasis-free-survival endpoint in the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial involving high-risk melanoma patients. The combination outperformed Keytruda alone, marking an important validation of Moderna’s mRNA cancer platform. Moderna’s 177% Surge Has Investors Asking What Comes Next
• Positive Sentiment: The result has expanded the potential valuation of Moderna’s pipeline beyond COVID-19 vaccines. Analysts see possible applications in lung, kidney and bladder cancers, while Jefferies estimated potential peak global sales of up to $54 billion and raised its price target to $170. Moderna oncology platform draws Street value after melanoma trial win
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved, with William Blair upgrading Moderna to Outperform and Bank of America moving the stock to Neutral. The trial also sparked broader interest in mRNA technologies and helped create a substantial short squeeze as bearish investors covered positions. Moderna Raised to Outperform at William Blair
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong clinical result, investors are awaiting detailed trial data and regulatory filings. Approval is still required, with a potential launch not expected until 2027 or later. Moderna-Merck melanoma vaccine data boosts outlook
• Negative Sentiment: After the historic rally, Moderna shares have subsequently decreased as traders took profits and questioned whether the clinical success is already reflected in the valuation. Heavy put-option activity and concerns that the treatment may be overhyped are adding to near-term pressure. Moderna’s personalized mRNA shot could reshape skin cancer treatment

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Moderna in the first quarter worth $899,000. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $161,642,545,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 1,387.6% in the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 22,590 shares during the last quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 498,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,706,000 after purchasing an additional 125,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicollet Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the 4th quarter worth approximately $897,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Trading Up 12.3%

The stock has a market cap of $59.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.13) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.