Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Moderna Call Options (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Key Points

• Traders purchased 113,636 call options on Moderna, a 47% increase over the average call volume, indicating unusually heavy bullish options activity.
• Moderna beat quarterly expectations on EPS (‑$2.11 vs. ‑$2.79) and revenue ($678M vs. $611M) but revenue fell 33.2% year-over-year and the company remains unprofitable, while analysts' consensus rating is "Reduce" with a consensus target price of $32.33.
• President Stephen Hoge sold 160,009 shares at an average price of $48.84 (≈$7.8M), reducing his stake by 9.89%; insiders now own 10.8% of the stock and institutions own 75.33%.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 113,636 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 47% compared to the average volume of 77,233 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRNA shares. Barclays initiated coverage on Moderna in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Moderna from a "market perform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 price target on Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Moderna from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Moderna Price Performance

MRNA stock traded down $4.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,085,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,327,604. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company's 50 day moving average is $48.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.95. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $59.55. The stock has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of -6.82 and a beta of 1.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported ($2.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.79) by $0.68. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 30.15% and a negative net margin of 145.16%.The business had revenue of $678.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $611.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.91) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Moderna will post -9.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 160,009 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.84, for a total value of $7,814,839.56. Following the sale, the president owned 1,457,427 shares in the company, valued at $71,180,734.68. This trade represents a 9.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Moderna by 3,775.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Moderna by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moderna

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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