Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Moderna shares surged after UBS raised its price target from $50 to $150 while maintaining a neutral rating. Trading volume rose 29% to approximately 13.4 million shares, and the stock reached $148.35 from a prior close of $133.32.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: William Blair upgraded Moderna to Outperform, but the broader consensus is Hold, with 11 Hold, four Buy and four Sell ratings and an average target price of $66.25.
• Moderna reported a quarterly loss of $1.97 per share, slightly better than estimates, while revenue of $145 million exceeded expectations. Insiders own 10.8% of the company, with recent sales conducted under pre-arranged trading plans.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $150.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Approximately 13,415,396 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 29% from the previous session's volume of 10,399,490 shares.The stock last traded at $148.35 and had previously closed at $133.32.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MRNA. Citigroup raised their price target on Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of Moderna from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported that their personalized mRNA therapy, intismeran, combined with Keytruda, met the primary recurrence-free-survival endpoint and the key distant-metastasis-free-survival endpoint in the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial involving high-risk melanoma patients. The combination outperformed Keytruda alone, marking an important validation of Moderna’s mRNA cancer platform. Moderna’s 177% Surge Has Investors Asking What Comes Next
• Positive Sentiment: The result has expanded the potential valuation of Moderna’s pipeline beyond COVID-19 vaccines. Analysts see possible applications in lung, kidney and bladder cancers, while Jefferies estimated potential peak global sales of up to $54 billion and raised its price target to $170. Moderna oncology platform draws Street value after melanoma trial win
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved, with William Blair upgrading Moderna to Outperform and Bank of America moving the stock to Neutral. The trial also sparked broader interest in mRNA technologies and helped create a substantial short squeeze as bearish investors covered positions. Moderna Raised to Outperform at William Blair
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong clinical result, investors are awaiting detailed trial data and regulatory filings. Approval is still required, with a potential launch not expected until 2027 or later. Moderna-Merck melanoma vaccine data boosts outlook
• Negative Sentiment: After the historic rally, Moderna shares have subsequently decreased as traders took profits and questioned whether the clinical success is already reflected in the valuation. Heavy put-option activity and concerns that the treatment may be overhyped are adding to near-term pressure. Moderna’s personalized mRNA shot could reshape skin cancer treatment

Institutional Trading of Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $59.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.Moderna's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.13) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moderna Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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