The Goldman Sachs Group Trims Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Target Price to $178.00

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had its price target reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $204.00 to $178.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a buy rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Moderna from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an in-line rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Moderna from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $122.79.

Moderna Stock Performance

MRNA traded down $3.40 on Friday, reaching $83.18. 5,028,190 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,135,144. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $129.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.88 billion, a PE ratio of -5.53 and a beta of 1.67. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $62.55 and a fifty-two week high of $170.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 3.91.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($3.33) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.47) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $241.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.41 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 21.35% and a negative net margin of 116.18%. The company’s revenue was down 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($3.62) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moderna will post -7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.08, for a total value of $1,756,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,269,015 shares in the company, valued at $265,656,276.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.96, for a total value of $30,844.80. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,486,508 shares in the company, valued at $179,808,007.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.08, for a total value of $1,756,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,269,015 shares in the company, valued at $265,656,276.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 396,239 shares of company stock worth $55,563,937 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $33,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Moderna by 45.0% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Moderna by 4,833.3% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 296 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the first quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other 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.