Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $67.84 and last traded at $67.63, with a volume of 3741318 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.75.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna’s Science Day showcased an expanded pipeline that includes oncology, autoimmune disease, and next-generation mRNA programs, including a new in vivo CAR-T approach and T-cell engager candidates. Investors appear to be re-rating the stock on the prospect of multiple future commercial franchises beyond vaccines. Article
• Positive Sentiment: FDA advisory support for Moderna’s mRNA flu shot, mFlusiva, strengthened the case that its platform can win approvals outside COVID-19, potentially opening a second major commercial opportunity in respiratory vaccines for older adults. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted Moderna’s new cell therapy program and broader Science Day disclosures as the main reasons the stock is leading the market higher, with investors responding to signs that the company is building a more diversified biotech story. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage from Yahoo Finance and Seeking Alpha mainly recapped Moderna’s Science Day presentation and expanding mRNA platform, reinforcing the same positive narrative rather than adding a new standalone catalyst. Article Article
• Neutral Sentiment: One note on short interest reported unusual data showing zero shares, so it does not appear to be a meaningful driver of the move.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $37.13.

Moderna Stock Up 12.6%

The stock has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.25 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.50.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($2.52) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,800.16. This trade represents a 70.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 125,088 shares of company stock worth $6,193,713 in the last quarter. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moderna by 3,775.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Moderna by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

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.