Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $30.37, but opened at $32.50. Moderna shares last traded at $33.08, with a volume of 4,892,518 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRNA. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.63.

Moderna Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $36.92 and its 200-day moving average is $49.88. The company has a market capitalization of $12.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.45 and a beta of 1.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Moderna by 121.8% in the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 10,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 5,902 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 4th quarter worth about $18,084,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. 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.