Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA – Get Free Report) shares rose 8.3% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $207.74 and last traded at $213.3890. Approximately 2,813,170 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 12,095,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.00.
More Moderna News
Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq-100 reentry may drive additional demand. Moderna is scheduled to rejoin the Nasdaq-100 before the October 9 market open, replacing Warner Bros. Discovery. The inclusion follows a substantial rise in Moderna’s market capitalization and could prompt buying by index-tracking funds, providing a near-term technical tailwind. Moderna’s Nasdaq-100 Entry: What Does It Mean for the Stock?
- Positive Sentiment: Investors are increasingly focused on Moderna’s cancer opportunity. Moderna and Merck are expanding development of the individualized neoantigen therapy intismeran autogene, also known as V940 or mRNA-4157, including studies in melanoma and other cancers. The collaboration with Tempus is intended to support potential commercialization and strengthens the long-term oncology narrative. Tempus Announces Multi-Year Collaboration with Moderna and Merck
- Positive Sentiment: Manufacturing capabilities are becoming a key part of the bull case. Recent coverage highlights Moderna’s efforts to apply lessons from its COVID-era production network to manufacture future cancer therapies at commercial scale. Successful execution could improve confidence in the company’s ability to convert its pipeline into revenue. Moderna’s Next Test: Manufacturing a Cancer Franchise at Scale
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains cautious. Morgan Stanley reportedly assigned Moderna a “Hold” rating, suggesting that the recent rally may already reflect substantial optimism about the oncology pipeline and index inclusion. Moderna Gets a Hold from Morgan Stanley
- Negative Sentiment: Execution and valuation risks are rising after the surge. Commentary emphasizes that scaling cancer manufacturing will be a major test, while reports that insiders are trimming holdings could add to concerns that the stock has moved ahead of near-term fundamentals. Moderna Builds the Back Office for a Cancer Franchise as Insiders Trim Holdings
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have weighed in on MRNA shares. Singular Research upgraded Moderna to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, September 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Moderna from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.17.
Moderna Trading Up 7.0%
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market cap of $84.14 billion, a PE ratio of -26.37 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $136.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.94.
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.13) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna
In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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. Also, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $4,685,093.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,985,343.75. This trade represents a 36.98% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,882 shares of company stock worth $16,862,280. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Moderna
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at $161,642,545. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the first quarter worth about $899,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Moderna in the second quarter worth about $119,168,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Moderna by 1,387.6% in the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 22,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $1,013,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Moderna
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.
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