Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 2,231,653 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the previous session’s volume of 4,827,578 shares.The stock last traded at $44.59 and had previously closed at $41.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Moderna from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Moderna from $178.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Moderna from $60.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.00.

Moderna Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.96 and its 200-day moving average is $93.71. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of -7.66 and a beta of 1.69.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.89) by $1.92. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 17.68% and a negative net margin of 43.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.39) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other Moderna news, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $42,985.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $571,440.60. This represents a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 2,930 shares of company stock worth $217,170 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Moderna by 12.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,847,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,125,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,276 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,069,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,670,000 after buying an additional 178,115 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Moderna by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,224,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,166,000 after acquiring an additional 906,114 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Moderna by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,890,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,023,000 after acquiring an additional 19,819 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Moderna by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,073,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,431,000 after acquiring an additional 178,939 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.