Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Sector Perform” Rating for Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $75.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Moderna from a moderate sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. William Blair restated a market perform rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Moderna from $155.00 to $125.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Moderna from $130.00 to $110.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $100.44.

Moderna Trading Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $65.69 on Thursday. Moderna has a 52 week low of $62.55 and a 52 week high of $170.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a current ratio of 4.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.19 and a beta of 1.67.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($3.33) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.47) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $241.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.41 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 116.18% and a negative return on equity of 21.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($3.62) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moderna will post -9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total value of $1,816,800.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,442,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,665,819.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 1,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.39, for a total transaction of $104,874.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $682,754. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total transaction of $1,816,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 1,442,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,665,819.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,158 shares of company stock valued at $11,167,312. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Moderna by 45.0% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 5,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Moderna by 2.0% in the second quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 5,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Moderna by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers, develops, and commercializes messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Its respiratory vaccines include COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, spikevax, and hMPV/PIV3 vaccines; latent vaccines comprise cytomegalovirus, epstein-barr virus, herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines; public health vaccines consists of Zika, Nipah, Mpox vaccines; and infectious diseases vaccines, such as lyme and norovirus vaccines.