Moderna Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 143,752 call options on the company. This is an increase of 38% compared to the typical volume of 104,486 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRNA shares. HSBC raised Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lowered shares of Moderna from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Moderna from $70.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.63.

Moderna Stock Performance

Moderna stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $34.51. The company had a trading volume of 9,035,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,525,375. Moderna has a 12-month low of $29.25 and a 12-month high of $170.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.72 and a beta of 1.86.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

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

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.