Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.2143.

MRNA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Moderna from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Berenberg Bank set a $28.00 price objective on Moderna in a report on Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Moderna in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moderna from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Moderna from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Moderna by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,708,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,192 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Moderna by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,877,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,458,000 after buying an additional 1,420,690 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 15.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,223,000 after buying an additional 1,115,131 shares during the period. Theleme Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 2.5% in the third quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 8,068,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,417,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Moderna by 0.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,597,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,982,000 after acquiring an additional 11,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Stock Up 3.3%

MRNA stock opened at $34.90 on Tuesday. Moderna has a twelve month low of $22.28 and a twelve month high of $48.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.32 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.26.

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