Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Moderna Call Options (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 159,220 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 72% compared to the average volume of 92,832 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup started coverage on Moderna in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Moderna from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Moderna from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Moderna from $33.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Moderna in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,049,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Moderna by 313.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 167,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,745,000 after purchasing an additional 126,961 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the 1st quarter worth $232,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the 1st quarter worth $232,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in Moderna by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,547 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 8,706 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRNA traded up $0.76 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.81. 13,419,008 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,660,482. Moderna has a 1-year low of $23.15 and a 1-year high of $158.82. The company has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 1.86. The business's 50 day moving average is $26.32 and its 200-day moving average is $33.75.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($2.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.92) by $0.40. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.74% and a negative net margin of 110.04%. The business had revenue of $108.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $130.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($3.07) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 35.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moderna will post -9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Moderna Company Profile

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.