Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Moderna shares surged nearly 99% to a new 52-week high of $118.43 after William Blair upgraded the stock from Market Perform to Outperform.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: four analysts rate Moderna a Buy, nine a Hold and five a Sell, resulting in an overall “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $42.13.
• The company continues to post losses but recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations; insiders have sold about 66,070 shares worth $3.35 million over the past 90 days.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after William Blair upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. The company traded as high as $118.43 and last traded at $116.7680, with a volume of 19443604 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $62.96.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MRNA. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Moderna from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Moderna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Moderna from $49.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $42.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other Moderna news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,924 shares in the company, valued at $183,800.16. The trade was a 70.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 66,070 shares of company stock worth $3,347,299 in the last ninety days. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Landmark melanoma trial succeeded: Moderna and Merck said their Phase 3 INTerpath-001 study met its primary endpoint for recurrence-free survival and its key endpoint for distant metastasis-free survival. The individualized mRNA-based neoantigen therapy, intismeran autogene (V940/mRNA-4157), combined with Merck’s KEYTRUDA, reduced the risk of melanoma returning or spreading compared with KEYTRUDA alone in patients with completely resected, high-risk Stage IIB-IV melanoma. This is the first positive late-stage trial for an mRNA cancer vaccine and significantly strengthens Moderna’s oncology pipeline. Reuters: Merck, Moderna say melanoma skin cancer vaccine meets goals in large trial
• Positive Sentiment: Potentially important commercial opportunity: Investors view the positive Phase 3 results as validation of Moderna’s personalized cancer-vaccine platform and a possible future source of substantial oncology revenue. The companies plan to provide additional data at a medical meeting and discuss regulatory submissions, although the treatment remains investigational. CNBC: Personalized cancer vaccine from Moderna, Merck shows promise in first late-stage melanoma trial
• Positive Sentiment: First FDA-approved mRNA flu vaccine: The FDA approved Moderna’s mFLUSIVA (mRNA-1010), giving the company a commercial product in seasonal influenza and expanding its respiratory-vaccine portfolio. The launch could support future growth, though market adoption, competition with conventional flu shots and seasonal strain-selection timing remain important execution risks. FDA Approves Moderna’s mFLUSIVA
• Neutral Sentiment: The melanoma announcement consists of positive topline results; investors still await detailed efficacy, safety and durability data, as well as regulatory review and approval. Moderna continues to report losses, so the stock’s valuation will depend on whether these pipeline successes translate into sustained sales and improved profitability.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the first quarter worth $899,000. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $161,642,545,000. Lingotto Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 498,693 shares of the company's stock worth $14,706,000 after purchasing an additional 125,598 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 1,387.6% during the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,218 shares of the company's stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 22,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicollet Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at $897,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moderna Stock Up 99.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $50.05 billion, a PE ratio of -15.04 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.34 and a 200 day moving average of $53.94.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($2.13) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. The company’s platform leverages synthetic mRNA to instruct cells to produce proteins that can prevent or treat diseases. Since its founding in 2010, Moderna has advanced from early-stage research into a broad pipeline of vaccine and therapeutic candidates designed to address infectious diseases, rare genetic disorders and chronic illnesses.

Moderna’s flagship product is its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, which was the first of its kind to receive emergency use authorization and later full approval in multiple jurisdictions.

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