Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Down 17.6% – Time to Sell?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s stock price fell 17.6% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $180.80 and last traded at $202.63. 49,580,747 shares were traded during mid-day 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 intismeran autogene, an individualized mRNA cancer vaccine used with Keytruda. The treatment produced clinically meaningful improvements in recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival in melanoma patients, supporting the potential value of Moderna’s oncology pipeline. Merck and Moderna INTerpath-001 results
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna advanced its mRNA bird-flu vaccine into a late-stage clinical trial, adding another potential growth opportunity beyond COVID-19. The company also recently expanded its respiratory portfolio with RSV, flu and combination vaccines. Moderna bird-flu vaccine trial
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna’s addition to the Nasdaq-100 increased visibility and may support index-related demand, but the stock’s strong recent run left it vulnerable to profit-taking when new information failed to deliver a clear upside surprise. Moderna Nasdaq-100 inclusion
• Negative Sentiment: The premature release of partial melanoma-vaccine data triggered a “sell-the-news” retreat. Trading was briefly halted because of volatility, and investors focused on the possibility that the results, while positive, were already reflected in Moderna’s elevated valuation. Reuters report on Moderna cancer-vaccine data
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm announced an investigation into potential securities-law violations related to the company’s October 22 disclosure, adding headline and litigation risk, although no wrongdoing has been established. Moderna investigation coverage

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MRNA. Singular Research raised shares of Moderna to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, September 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.95.

Moderna Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $80.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.36 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.16.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.13) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jamey Mock sold 34,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $4,685,093.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. This represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 197,251 shares of company stock valued at $33,875,904. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the third quarter worth $267,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Moderna in the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Moderna by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 23,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,562,000 after purchasing an additional 7,267 shares in the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna in the 3rd quarter worth $233,000. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna in the 3rd quarter worth $243,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 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.