Leerink Partners Cuts Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Price Target to $27.00

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Leerink Partners from $31.00 to $27.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners’ price objective would suggest a potential downside of 19.99% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Moderna from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus lowered shares of Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Moderna from $59.00 to $45.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.58.

Moderna Stock Performance

MRNA traded down $1.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $33.75. The stock had a trading volume of 6,240,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,270,938. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.80 and a beta of 1.60. Moderna has a twelve month low of $31.94 and a twelve month high of $170.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.56. 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 (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.39) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moderna will post -9.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $843,690.43. The trade was a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,664 shares of company stock valued at $115,210. 15.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axiom Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 12,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 2.2% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 4,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Moderna by 7.9% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Moderna by 25.7% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.