Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Price Down 7.1% – Should You Sell?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price fell 7.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $59.66 and last traded at $59.3960. Approximately 1,437,462 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 9,140,032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRNA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $36.60.

Moderna Trading Up 2.8%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.88. The company has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.41.

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

Insider Activity

In other Moderna news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 125,088 shares of company stock worth $6,193,713. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Moderna by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,584,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,226,335,000 after acquiring an additional 399,487 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the fourth quarter worth $378,299,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 15.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,131 shares during the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 2.5% during the third quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 8,068,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,417,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,621,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,290,000 after purchasing an additional 309,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

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.