Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Moderna shares jumped 13.1% to a 52-week high of $258.72, amid attention on promising early-stage pipeline updates.
• Early data showed four confirmed responses among 11 multiple myeloma patients treated with investigational mRNA-2808; the WHO also recommended advancing Moderna’s experimental Ebola vaccine to a Phase 2/3 study. Both programs remain investigational, and the findings do not guarantee approval or commercial success.
• Analyst views remain mixed: MarketBeat reports a consensus Hold rating and a $107.10 average price target, well below the stock’s recent trading price.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $258.72 and last traded at $258.38, with a volume of 14,674,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.44.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna’s investigational mRNA-2808 showed four confirmed responses among 11 heavily pretreated multiple myeloma patients in early Phase 1/2 data. The results will be presented at the American Society of Hematology meeting in December, drawing attention to the company’s approach of using mRNA to prompt the body to produce three cancer-targeting agents. Article: Moderna Soars on Early Multiple Myeloma Data Article: Moderna Announces Oral Presentation of mRNA-2808 Clinical Data
• Positive Sentiment: The World Health Organization’s technical advisory group recommended advancing Moderna’s experimental Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine, mRNA-1469, to a Phase 2/3 efficacy study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following encouraging preclinical and Phase 1 results. Article: Moderna Advances Investigational Bundibugyo Ebolavirus Vaccine
• Neutral Sentiment: Both updates involve investigational products: the myeloma findings are preliminary, and the Ebola vaccine still needs to undergo a larger efficacy study. They may support optimism about Moderna’s pipeline, but do not establish eventual approval or commercial success.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRNA. William Blair cut Moderna from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. CLSA upgraded Moderna to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Singular Research upgraded Moderna to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Moderna from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.10.

Moderna Trading Up 13.1%

The stock has a market cap of $103.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.34 and a beta of 1.16. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $185.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $4,685,093.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. This trade represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904 over the last three months. 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 modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $564,272,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,384,000 after buying an additional 103,977 shares during the period. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $161,642,545. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth about $139,317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Company Profile

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 stimulate immune responses or support the treatment of disease. The company's research programs span infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions and other therapeutic areas.

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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