Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Climb 4.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Moderna shares rose 4.5% to $236.50 after Goldman Sachs raised its price target from $120 to $137, though it maintained a Neutral rating. Trading volume was about 40% above the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is Hold, with seven Buy, fifteen Hold and four Sell ratings, and a consensus price target of $101.45.
• Moderna remains unprofitable, with analysts forecasting a full-year loss of $6.11 per share; insiders have also sold approximately $16.9 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 4.5% during trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $137.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Moderna traded as high as $242.29 and last traded at $236.50. 17,249,434 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 40% from the average session volume of 12,298,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.30.

MRNA has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup lowered Moderna from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Moderna from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Moderna from $77.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Moderna from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total value of $5,807,574.22. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,525,858 shares in the company, valued at $219,921,913.54. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $10,374,353.55. This represents a 4.47% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 118,882 shares of company stock worth $16,862,280 in the last 90 days. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moderna News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Personalized cancer-vaccine optimism remains the main catalyst. Moderna and Merck’s individualized mRNA cancer vaccine previously met primary and key secondary endpoints in a Phase 3 melanoma trial, and the companies are testing the platform across melanoma, lung, bladder and kidney cancers. Full Phase 3 data expected later this month could provide another major catalyst. Moderna company overview
• Positive Sentiment: Manufacturing progress supports the commercial outlook. Merck CEO Rob Davis said the complex cancer-vaccine manufacturing process is becoming increasingly efficient and that the partners have it “down to a very tight science.” Faster production could improve scalability if the vaccine wins approval. CNBC cancer vaccine manufacturing article
• Positive Sentiment: Sector rotation and technical momentum are attracting buyers. Fresh investment is moving from popular technology shares into healthcare, while Moderna has become the S&P 500’s strongest performer year to date. Nasdaq-100 inclusion may also create additional demand from index-tracking funds. Healthcare sector rotation article
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term events could produce substantial volatility. Moderna’s third-quarter earnings report is scheduled for November 6, followed by Analyst Day on November 12. Investors will likely focus on pipeline updates, cash use and the path back to profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation has become difficult to justify on current fundamentals. Moderna remains unprofitable, burns cash and is expected to post a full-year loss. Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $137 but retained a Neutral rating, implying considerable downside from the current trading level. Other commentary also warns that analyst targets remain well below the stock after its dramatic rally. Seeking Alpha Moderna valuation article

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Moderna by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 222 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Moderna by 8.8% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Moderna by 35.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moderna Trading Up 4.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $149.83 and a 200 day moving average of $88.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $94.42 billion, a PE ratio of -29.60 and a beta of 1.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.13) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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 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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