Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts collectively rate Moderna “Hold”: Four analysts recommend selling, 13 suggest holding and seven recommend buying. The average 12-month price target is $76.72, well below the reported share price of $194.82.
• Moderna reported a quarterly loss of $1.97 per share, slightly better than estimates, while revenue of $145 million exceeded expectations and increased 2.1% year over year. Analysts expect a full-year loss of $6.09 per share.
• The company’s outlook is supported by its mRNA pipeline, including positive Phase 3 melanoma results with Merck and growth opportunities in flu, RSV, oncology and other vaccines. However, recent insider selling and the stock’s elevated valuation present potential risks.

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-four research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.72.

MRNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Moderna from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, August 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Bradesco Corretora raised shares of Moderna to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, September 9th.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck’s Phase 3 melanoma study reportedly met key endpoints, improving recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival compared with KEYTRUDA alone. Investors view the results as evidence that Moderna’s mRNA technology could support a major oncology franchise. Moderna Rises as Cancer-Vaccine Momentum and Pipeline Visibility Stay in Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming presentations at the ESMO medical meeting and potential regulatory submissions are giving investors greater visibility into the cancer vaccine’s development and commercialization path. Moderna to unveil late-stage cancer vaccine data at ESMO
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Stéphane Bancel’s comments that Moderna has never been solely a COVID-19 vaccine company reinforced the market’s focus on vaccines for flu and respiratory diseases, oncology, and the broader mRNA platform. Moderna CEO's Surprising Comment Gives Clues About Where Drugmaker Is Going Next
• Positive Sentiment: FDA approval and availability of Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine add a potential commercial growth opportunity beyond COVID-19 products. mRNA flu vaccine wins FDA approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported institutional activity was mixed, with several large investors adding shares while others reduced positions. A separate report showing zero short interest appears inconsistent and may reflect incomplete data rather than a meaningful change in positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders, including the CEO, president, and CFO, reportedly made no open-market purchases and sold shares during the past six months. Analysts’ reported median price target of $46.50 is also substantially below the recent market price, highlighting valuation and profit-taking risks.

Moderna Stock Up 7.0%

Moderna stock opened at $194.82 on Friday. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $109.04 and its 200-day moving average is $73.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.78 billion, a PE ratio of -24.38 and a beta of 1.10. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $195.71.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($2.13) EPS. Moderna's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moderna will post -6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 118,882 shares of company stock worth $16,862,280 over the last three months. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $30,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Moderna during the second quarter worth about $46,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines and vaccines. Its platform is designed to provide cells with instructions to produce proteins that may help prevent or treat infectious diseases, cancer and other medical conditions.

The company's commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults. Moderna also maintains a pipeline of investigational programs in areas such as seasonal influenza, cytomegalovirus, oncology and rare diseases.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Moderna serves markets in the United States and internationally through regulatory approvals, commercial partnerships and distribution arrangements.

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