Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Trading 9.4% Higher Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) traded up 9.4% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $122.81 and last traded at $121.99. 5,955,355 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 46% from the average session volume of 4,065,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.46.

The company reported ($3.07) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.59) by $0.52. The company had revenue of $167.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 91.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MRNA shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moderna from $142.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Moderna from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, Moderna has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total value of $63,361.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,235.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.92, for a total transaction of $1,663,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,026,931 shares in the company, valued at $224,827,186.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 670 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total transaction of $63,361.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 139,954 shares of company stock valued at $14,822,576 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRNA. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV boosted its position in Moderna by 125.0% during the 1st quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna in the first quarter worth $287,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Moderna by 80,000.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,570 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 11.1% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Trading Down 0.5 %

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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $105.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.37.

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.