Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Now Covered by Barclays

Barclays began coverage on shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) in a research note released on Wednesday. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on MRNA. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Moderna from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Moderna from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $28.77.

Moderna Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Moderna stock opened at $45.30 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.05. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $55.20. The firm has a market cap of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.61 and a beta of 1.17.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.15) by $1.64. Moderna had a negative net margin of 139.61% and a negative return on equity of 29.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $893.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Moderna’s revenue for the quarter was down 45.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Moderna will post -9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 23,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $703,186.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,679.52. This trade represents a 85.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 10.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter valued at about $415,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Moderna by 732.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 10,185 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Moderna in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Moderna by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 8,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moderna by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 3,008 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.