Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Given New $38.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Bank of America from $34.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential downside of 52.01% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $37.87.

Moderna Stock Performance

Moderna stock traded down $2.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.18. 2,077,271 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,278,820. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.58. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $85.60. The firm has a market cap of $31.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business 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 company earned ($2.52) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 260.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moderna will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 three months, insiders sold 125,088 shares of company stock valued at $6,193,713. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRNA. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter valued at $378,299,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 4th quarter worth about $95,209,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Moderna during the 4th quarter valued at about $79,707,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,131 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 123.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,788,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,775,000 after purchasing an additional 987,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.