Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.06, but opened at $35.76. Moderna shares last traded at $36.38, with a volume of 2,931,922 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRNA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Moderna from $59.00 to $45.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Moderna from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Moderna from $70.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.58.

Moderna Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.48.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.89) by $1.92. Moderna had a negative net margin of 43.77% and a negative return on equity of 17.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.39) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $60,676.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,690.43. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 2,664 shares of company stock worth $115,210 over the last 90 days. 15.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Moderna by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,847,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,125,899,000 after buying an additional 1,823,276 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,069,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,670,000 after acquiring an additional 178,115 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Moderna by 21.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,224,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,166,000 after acquiring an additional 906,114 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Moderna by 0.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,890,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,023,000 after purchasing an additional 19,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Moderna by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,073,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,431,000 after purchasing an additional 178,939 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers, develops, and commercializes messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Its respiratory vaccines include COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, spikevax, and hMPV/PIV3 vaccines; latent vaccines comprise cytomegalovirus, epstein-barr virus, herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines; public health vaccines consists of Zika, Nipah, Mpox vaccines; and infectious diseases vaccines, such as lyme and norovirus vaccines.