Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Moderna’s price target from $39 to $89 but maintained an “equal weight” rating, implying nearly 49% downside from the reported $174.38 share price. Analysts overall hold a consensus “Hold” rating with an average target of $59.69.
• Moderna reported a quarterly loss of $1.97 per share, slightly better than estimates, while revenue of $145 million exceeded expectations and rose 2.1% year over year. Analysts still expect the company to remain unprofitable for the full year.
• Positive melanoma trial results and new vaccine catalysts fueled the stock’s rally, but short covering contributed significantly to the surge. Investors continue to face execution, regulatory and valuation risks, including the need for complete trial data and Moderna’s ongoing losses.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $89.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential downside of 48.96% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on Moderna in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.69.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of Moderna stock opened at $174.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $69.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Moderna has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $176.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $64.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.84.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.13) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moderna will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% 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. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,584,782 shares of the company's stock worth $1,226,335,000 after acquiring an additional 399,487 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,142,877,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Moderna in the 4th quarter worth approximately $378,299,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Moderna by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $212,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $564,272,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Phase 3 melanoma trial met both key endpoints. Moderna and Merck said intismeran, an individualized mRNA neoantigen therapy, combined with Merck’s Keytruda significantly improved recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival versus Keytruda alone in patients with resected, high-risk melanoma. The companies described the results as the first positive late-stage validation of a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine. Merck, Moderna say melanoma skin cancer vaccine meets goals in large trial
• Positive Sentiment: The result supports a broader oncology opportunity. Investors are increasingly viewing the melanoma win as evidence that Moderna’s mRNA platform could support additional cancer programs, including treatments aimed at lung, kidney and bladder cancers. Success alongside Keytruda could also create a significant commercial opportunity if regulators approve the therapy, potentially as early as 2027. Moderna, Merck breakthrough could usher in wave of cancer vaccines
• Positive Sentiment: Additional positive catalysts reinforced the rally. William Blair upgraded Moderna to “outperform,” while Bank of America moved its rating from “underperform” to “neutral.” The FDA also approved Moderna’s mFLUSIVA seasonal influenza vaccine, giving the company another commercial mRNA product. Elon Musk’s favorable comments about mRNA technology added visibility, though they were not a fundamental company announcement. FDA Approves Moderna’s mFLUSIVA
• Neutral Sentiment: Short covering amplified the move. Moderna had significant short interest, and data providers estimated that bearish investors suffered approximately $4.8 billion in mark-to-market losses as they covered positions. This helped drive the explosive advance but does not necessarily represent new long-term demand. Moderna short-sellers stare at record one-day loss
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face substantial execution and valuation risks. The companies have released topline results, while complete trial data and regulatory review remain outstanding. After the historic surge, profit-taking, elevated options activity and the possibility of post-squeeze consolidation could create near-term pressure. Moderna remains unprofitable, with analysts forecasting a full-year loss.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source