Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Moderna reached a new 52-week high of $211.89 before trading around $196.65, though shares fell 4.9% during the session. The company’s market capitalization was approximately $77.1 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remained mixed: seven analysts rated the stock a Buy, 13 recommended Hold, and five issued Sell ratings. The consensus rating was Hold, with an average price target of $77.83—well below the trading price.
• Moderna exceeded quarterly revenue and earnings expectations, reporting $145 million in revenue and an adjusted loss of $1.97 per share. However, the company continued to post negative profitability, while insiders sold approximately $16.9 million of stock in the latest quarter.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $211.89 and last traded at $196.6480, with a volume of 2459099 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $203.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRNA. Bank of America raised Moderna from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup cut Moderna from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. William Blair started coverage on Moderna in a report on Friday, August 28th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Moderna from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $81.00 in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.83.

Moderna Trading Down 4.9%

The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $128.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.95. The company has a market capitalization of $77.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.05 and a beta of 1.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.13) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jamey Mock sold 34,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $4,685,093.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. This represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 118,882 shares of company stock valued at $16,862,280 in the last quarter. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRNA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $564,272,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Moderna in the 4th quarter worth about $378,299,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Moderna by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company's stock worth $172,384,000 after buying an additional 103,977 shares during the period. Finally, Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $161,642,545. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can help prevent or treat disease, supporting the company's work across infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

Moderna's commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.

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