Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Earns "Overweight" Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $69.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $115.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MRNA. Oppenheimer lowered Moderna from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Moderna from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $85.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Moderna from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Moderna from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.33.

Moderna Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRNA traded up $2.66 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $39.51. 13,865,345 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,751,389. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.70 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.68. 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 has a twelve month low of $35.80 and a twelve month high of $170.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.89) by $1.92. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Moderna had a negative net margin of 43.77% and a negative return on equity of 17.68%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.39) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Moderna will post -9.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $42,985.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $571,440.60. This represents a 7.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,930 shares of company stock valued at $217,170. Company insiders own 15.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRNA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 230.4% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 413 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

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.