Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MRNA. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, March 28th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Moderna from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $126.49.

Moderna Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRNA traded up $14.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $125.59. The company had a trading volume of 11,967,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,140,322. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.14. Moderna has a one year low of $62.55 and a one year high of $142.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.09 billion, a PE ratio of -10.12 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.78) by $1.33. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 10.23% and a negative net margin of 68.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 44.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Moderna will post -7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $1,624,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,041,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,181,965.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO James M. Mock sold 705 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.93, for a total transaction of $71,860.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $514,542.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $1,624,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,041,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $221,181,965.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 124,954 shares of company stock valued at $13,158,776. 15.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 4,833.3% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 296 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 953.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 121.8% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 366 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.