Traders Buy High Volume of Moderna Put Options (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 103,653 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 142% compared to the average volume of 42,850 put options.

Moderna Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of Moderna stock opened at $54.82 on Friday. Moderna has a 1 year low of $54.82 and a 1 year high of $170.47. The firm has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a PE ratio of -3.50 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 3.92.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($3.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($3.47) by $0.14. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 21.35% and a negative net margin of 116.18%. The firm had revenue of $241.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.41 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($3.62) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moderna will post -9.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In related news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.80, for a total value of $1,767,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,239,015 shares in the company, valued at $263,755,967. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Moderna news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.80, for a total transaction of $1,767,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,239,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $263,755,967. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $42,985.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,505 shares in the company, valued at $571,440.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,184 shares of company stock worth $3,804,931 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 5,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 5,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, McAdam LLC grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut Moderna from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Moderna from $60.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Moderna from $130.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.18.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers, develops, and commercializes messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Its respiratory vaccines include COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, spikevax, and hMPV/PIV3 vaccines; latent vaccines comprise cytomegalovirus, epstein-barr virus, herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines; public health vaccines consists of Zika, Nipah, Mpox vaccines; and infectious diseases vaccines, such as lyme and norovirus vaccines.