Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Cut to Neutral at The Goldman Sachs Group

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) was downgraded by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $51.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $99.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 24.27% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MRNA. Hsbc Global Res raised Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Argus downgraded shares of Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Moderna from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Moderna from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.26.

Moderna Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MRNA opened at $41.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a PE ratio of -7.05 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.87 and its 200 day moving average is $62.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a current ratio of 4.39. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $31.94 and a fifty-two week high of $170.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.89) by $1.92. Moderna had a negative net margin of 43.77% and a negative return on equity of 17.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.39) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Moderna will post -9.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $60,676.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,690.43. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 2,664 shares of company stock worth $115,210 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Moderna by 295.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Moderna by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Moderna by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 311.2% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.