Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sees Large Volume Increase

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,603,648 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the previous session’s volume of 4,177,301 shares.The stock last traded at $67.79 and had previously closed at $69.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRNA. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Moderna from $204.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Moderna from $130.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Moderna from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Moderna from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.53.

Moderna Trading Down 2.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.06 and a 200 day moving average of $111.79. The firm has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a PE ratio of -4.36 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 3.92, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($3.33) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($3.62) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.16, for a total value of $2,072,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,457,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,311,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.16, for a total transaction of $2,072,400.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 1,457,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,311,416.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO James M. Mock sold 1,321 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.39, for a total value of $104,874.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,754. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,158 shares of company stock valued at $13,239,712 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter valued at $3,140,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Moderna by 4.3% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 283,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,714,000 after purchasing an additional 11,828 shares during the last quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,372,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth $524,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Moderna by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 18,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.