The Goldman Sachs Group Downgrades Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) to Neutral

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $51.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $99.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 24.27% from the company’s previous close.

MRNA has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Moderna from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Moderna from $59.00 to $45.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their target price on Moderna from $125.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Moderna in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moderna presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.26.

Moderna Price Performance

MRNA stock opened at $41.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.05 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.03. Moderna has a 52-week low of $31.94 and a 52-week high of $170.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.39) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Moderna will post -9.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction 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 owns 19,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,690.43. The trade was a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,664 shares of company stock valued at $115,210. Company insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRNA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Moderna by 295.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Moderna by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in Moderna by 311.2% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.