Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) PT Raised to $135.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.00% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on MRNA. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Moderna from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Moderna from $142.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.55.

Moderna Stock Performance

MRNA traded down $0.59 on Friday, reaching $125.00. 4,512,362 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,144,759. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.14. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $62.55 and a fifty-two week high of $142.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.86 billion, a PE ratio of -10.07 and a beta of 1.57.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($3.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($3.59) by $0.52. The business had revenue of $167.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.26 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 10.23% and a negative net margin of 68.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 91.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moderna will post -7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 2,388 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total value of $225,833.16. Following the sale, the president now owns 1,515,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,358,473.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 2,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total transaction of $225,833.16. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,515,898 shares in the company, valued at $143,358,473.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total value of $63,361.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,235.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,954 shares of company stock worth $14,822,576 in the last three months. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in Moderna by 4,833.3% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 296 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 953.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 121.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.