Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $39.77, but opened at $38.55. Moderna shares last traded at $38.25, with a volume of 4,196,039 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRNA shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Moderna from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of Moderna from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Moderna from $70.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Moderna from $178.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.22.

Moderna Trading Down 7.3 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.88. The company has a market capitalization of $14.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.33 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 4.20, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.39) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $42,985.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,505 shares in the company, valued at $571,440.60. This trade represents a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,930 shares of company stock worth $217,170 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 45.0% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new position in Moderna during the second quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

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.