Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 2,231,653 shares traded hands during mid-day 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Moderna from $178.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on Moderna in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Moderna from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.26.

Moderna Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.20.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.39) EPS. Moderna’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $42,985.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,505 shares in the company, valued at $571,440.60. This trade represents a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,609 shares of company stock valued at $112,295. Corporate insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 287,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,978 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Moderna by 23.7% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 131,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,787,000 after purchasing an additional 25,177 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $470,670,000 after buying an additional 178,115 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 21,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after buying an additional 4,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Moderna by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 114,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,641,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

About Moderna

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.