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

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its target price cut by Leerink Partners from $31.00 to $27.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners’ price target would suggest a potential downside of 20.73% from the company’s previous close.

MRNA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Moderna from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus lowered shares of Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Moderna from $70.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Moderna from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.58.

Moderna Stock Performance

MRNA opened at $34.06 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.85 and its 200-day moving average is $66.75. The stock has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a PE ratio of -5.85 and a beta of 1.60. Moderna has a twelve month low of $31.94 and a twelve month high of $170.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.89) by $1.92. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 17.68% and a negative net margin of 43.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.39) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Moderna will post -9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $60,676.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,717 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,664 shares of company stock worth $115,210 over the last 90 days. 15.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRNA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Moderna by 365.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Moderna by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Moderna by 477.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 941 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently 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.