Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Down 7% – Here’s What Happened

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares were down 7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $74.11 and last traded at $74.2230. 2,186,441 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 9,279,514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRNA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $38.27.

Moderna Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $27.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.68 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $55.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) 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 firm had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.52) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other Moderna news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total value of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $562,637.58. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 125,088 shares of company stock valued at $6,193,713. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the first quarter valued at approximately $415,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 732.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 10,185 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Moderna by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 8,706 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Moderna by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares during the last quarter. 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.