Berenberg Bank Initiates Coverage on Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) in a research report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Moderna from $60.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, November 8th. HSBC raised Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Moderna from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.00.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRNA opened at $41.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.05 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.65. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Moderna has a twelve month low of $35.80 and a twelve month high of $170.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.39) EPS. Moderna’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Moderna will post -9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 1,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.39, for a total value of $104,874.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,600 shares in the company, valued at $682,754. This trade represents a 13.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,930 shares of company stock valued at $217,170. Corporate insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 91.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC now owns 51,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 24,505 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the third quarter valued at about $3,550,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 341.3% in the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 49,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 38,400 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,614,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,885,000 after acquiring an additional 167,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 148.2% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 116,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,758,000 after acquiring an additional 69,313 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.