Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Argus upgraded Moderna to “buy” from “hold” and set a $180 price target, although the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with an average target of $80.53.
• Moderna shares traded actively after the upgrade, with 6.2 million shares changing hands; the stock was recently priced at $137.32, down from its prior close of $142.77.
• The company continues to report losses, despite quarterly revenue of $145 million exceeding estimates, while recent clinical progress in personalized cancer vaccines and updated COVID-19 vaccine approvals support its longer-term pipeline outlook.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after Argus upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Argus now has a $180.00 price target on the stock. 6,202,817 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the previous session's volume of 11,322,521 shares.The stock last traded at $137.32 and had previously closed at $142.77.

MRNA has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Brookline Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moderna currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.53.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 own 10.80% of the company's stock.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported strong interim Phase 3 results for their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran, combined with Keytruda. The treatment significantly improved recurrence-free and distant-metastasis-free survival in patients with surgically removed, high-risk melanoma, providing important clinical validation for Moderna’s oncology strategy. Success after a century of failures: Inside Moderna and Merck's cancer vaccine breakthrough
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA approved Moderna’s updated 2026–2027 Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 vaccines targeting the XFG subvariant. The approval supports availability for older adults and higher-risk patients ahead of the new respiratory-virus season. Moderna Receives U.S. FDA Approval for Updated 2026-2027 COVID-19 Vaccines
• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded Moderna from “hold” to “buy” and assigned a $180 price target, signaling that the firm sees additional upside based on the company’s pipeline and recent clinical progress.
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna priced $2.6 billion of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2032, increased from the previously announced $2.0 billion. Proceeds may fund oncology investments, general corporate needs and debt repayment. A hedge overlay is intended to reduce dilution risk up to a specified cap, while the initial conversion price is approximately $210.58. Moderna Announces Pricing of Upsized $2.6 Billion Offering of Convertible Senior Notes
• Negative Sentiment: The upsized financing is weighing on MRNA because it increases potential future share dilution and highlights Moderna’s need to fund growth while remaining unprofitable. Investors appear to be prioritizing the near-term financing over the longer-term oncology opportunity, causing shares to fall.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the 1st quarter valued at $899,000. Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Moderna during the second quarter valued at about $161,642,545,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Moderna during the second quarter worth about $119,168,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Moderna by 1,387.6% in the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,218 shares of the company's stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 22,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 498,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,706,000 after purchasing an additional 125,598 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.05 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50 day moving average price is $75.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.13) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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