Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Price Target Raised to $77.00

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $40.00 to $77.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Moderna from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Brookline Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moderna has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.50.

Moderna Price Performance

MRNA stock opened at $145.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. Moderna has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $176.66. The firm has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.16 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.19.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($2.13) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Moderna will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the 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 directly owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. 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. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $2,142,877,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Moderna during the 4th quarter worth approximately $378,299,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $564,272,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,209,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,707,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are assigning substantial commercial potential to the cancer program. Jefferies reportedly estimates as much as $54 billion in peak global sales and raised its price target to $170, while coverage highlighted the possibility that the trial could establish an oncology opportunity comparable to Merck’s Keytruda franchise. Jefferies sees $54 billion peak sales for Moderna cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: The favorable Phase 3 outcome has triggered analyst upgrades, including William Blair moving Moderna to Outperform and Bank of America raising its rating to Neutral. The stock also reached a new 12-month high amid renewed enthusiasm for mRNA-based cancer treatments. Moderna raised to Outperform at William Blair
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading has been exceptionally volatile for a third consecutive session. Analysts attribute the sharp swings partly to heavy short interest and a subsequent short squeeze, while options activity suggests elevated volatility may persist even without new clinical information. Moderna rallies as mRNA trading whipsaws
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns remain significant after the recent surge. JPMorgan raised its price target to $77 but retained an Underweight rating, implying substantial downside from current levels. Commentary also cautioned that the clinical success does not eliminate development, regulatory, manufacturing, commercialization, and pipeline risks for Moderna or other mRNA companies. JPMorgan raises Moderna price target but keeps Underweight rating

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.