Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Price

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $95.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 50.09% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Moderna in a research report on Friday, August 28th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, August 28th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.17.

Moderna Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Moderna stock traded up $2.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $190.35. 4,048,468 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,964,873. The stock has a market cap of $75.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.93 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $131.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.90. Moderna has a 12-month low of $22.28 and a 12-month high of $212.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.13) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Moderna will post -6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $4,685,093.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,985,343.75. This represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total transaction of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 74,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 118,882 shares of company stock valued at $16,862,280 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can help prevent or treat disease, supporting the company’s work across infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

Moderna’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.