Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Price Down 5.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Moderna's stock price fell by 5.2% after Leerink Partners downgraded its price target from $18.00 to $15.00, now holding an underperform rating.
• Several analysts have recently lowered their price targets, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $42.88.
• Institutional investors own approximately 75.33% of Moderna's stock, with notable increases in holdings from Vanguard and Geode Capital Management.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Leerink Partners lowered their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $15.00. Leerink Partners currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Moderna traded as low as $25.82 and last traded at $25.71. 4,869,262 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 10,628,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.12.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MRNA. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Moderna from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Moderna from $40.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup began coverage on Moderna in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $26.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moderna by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,708,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,150,743,000 after buying an additional 1,312,192 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Moderna by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,877,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,690 shares during the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Moderna by 8.6% in the second quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 7,868,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,100,000 after acquiring an additional 626,420 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Moderna by 20.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,101,032 shares of the company's stock worth $195,917,000 after buying an additional 1,217,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Moderna by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,597,236 shares of the company's stock worth $101,982,000 after acquiring an additional 11,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a PE ratio of -3.44 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.99) by $0.86. Moderna had a negative net margin of 94.31% and a negative return on equity of 25.96%. The company had revenue of $142.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($3.33) EPS. Moderna's revenue for the quarter was down 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moderna has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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