Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Rating Reiterated by Needham & Company LLC

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.55.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRNA traded down $0.59 on Thursday, reaching $125.00. 4,513,133 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,445,723. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.86 billion, a PE ratio of -7.98 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $105.05 and its 200-day moving average is $94.37. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $62.55 and a fifty-two week high of $142.79.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($3.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.59) by $0.52. The business had revenue of $167.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.26 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 20.10% and a negative net margin of 115.82%. Moderna’s revenue for the quarter was down 91.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moderna will post -7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.92, for a total value of $1,663,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,026,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,827,186.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total transaction of $61,186.79. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,651. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.92, for a total transaction of $1,663,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,026,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,827,186.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 139,954 shares of company stock worth $14,822,576. 15.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV increased its holdings in Moderna by 125.0% in the 1st quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moderna in the first quarter worth about $287,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 80,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 44.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Moderna by 11.1% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.