Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $51.81, but opened at $56.60. Moderna shares last traded at $54.15, with a volume of 5,558,892 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRNA shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Moderna from $140.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Moderna from $130.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Moderna from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Moderna from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.00.

Moderna Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a current ratio of 4.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.37 and a beta of 1.69.

Insider Activity

In other Moderna news, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $42,985.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $571,440.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Moderna news, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $42,985.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $571,440.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO James M. Mock sold 1,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.39, for a total transaction of $104,874.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $682,754. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,184 shares of company stock valued at $238,531. Company insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,036,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,159,769,000 after acquiring an additional 5,129,800 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 10,687.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 319,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,353,000 after acquiring an additional 316,552 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 1,212.9% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 330,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,251,000 after acquiring an additional 305,609 shares during the period. Matrix Capital Management Company LP lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 60.8% in the 1st quarter. Matrix Capital Management Company LP now owns 730,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,789,000 after acquiring an additional 276,000 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,317,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.