Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $30.37, but opened at $32.50. Moderna shares last traded at $33.08, with a volume of 4,892,518 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MRNA shares. Argus downgraded Moderna from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $69.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Moderna in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Moderna from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.63.

Moderna Stock Up 3.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.84 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.77.

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Institutional Trading of Moderna

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in Moderna by 91.1% during the third quarter. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC now owns 51,392 shares of the company's stock worth $3,435,000 after acquiring an additional 24,505 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in Moderna during the third quarter worth about $3,550,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Moderna by 341.3% during the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 49,650 shares of the company's stock worth $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 38,400 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Moderna by 11.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,614,313 shares of the company's stock worth $107,885,000 after acquiring an additional 167,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Moderna by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 315,912 shares of the company's stock worth $12,842,000 after acquiring an additional 69,360 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.