Traders Buy Large Volume of Moderna Call Options (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 143,752 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 38% compared to the average daily volume of 104,486 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRNA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $69.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $51.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Moderna by 295.0% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Moderna by 286.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Moderna by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moderna Stock Performance

MRNA stock opened at $34.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.70 and a beta of 1.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.67. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $29.25 and a fifty-two week high of $170.47.

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.