Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. The stock had previously closed at $150.81, but opened at $145.95. Rothschild & Co Redburn now has a $81.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $40.00. Moderna shares last traded at $146.5840, with a volume of 2,020,441 shares.

MRNA has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America raised shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.72.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Encouraging Phase 3 melanoma data for Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine, Intismeran, strengthened the investment case for its oncology pipeline. The partnership with Merck provides commercial reach and shared development costs, while future upside depends on expanding the treatment into additional tumor types. Moderna: Massive Asymmetry About What The mRNA Is
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA’s approval of a new mRNA flu vaccine supports Moderna’s commercial vaccine platform and could create a new recurring revenue opportunity beyond COVID-19. Coverage tied the approval and melanoma results to a recent rise in MRNA shares. Moderna Stock Climbs Following Melanoma Trial Success and Vaccine Approval
• Positive Sentiment: Brookline Capital Markets raised its EPS forecasts for Moderna across 2026–2028, including reducing projected losses for 2026 and 2027 and increasing its 2028 estimate to a $0.62 profit. The firm maintains a Buy rating, suggesting expectations for improving profitability.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity, including more than 106,000 contracts in one session, indicates strong speculative interest. Short-squeeze commentary from Jim Cramer and other market coverage may also be supporting bullish momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor articles describe Moderna’s cancer-vaccine opportunity as potentially substantial but speculative; the valuation depends on successful commercialization and expansion beyond melanoma.
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. Redburn downgraded MRNA from Neutral to Sell. Although its price target increased from $40 to $81, the target remains 46.3% below the referenced $150.81 price, signaling concern that recent gains have outpaced near-term fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: GSK is advancing a competing mRNA flu vaccine into Phase 3 development. While the news has not derailed Moderna’s recent rally, it could increase competitive pressure on pricing, market share and future vaccine revenue. GSK to Advance mRNA Influenza Vaccine Into Phase III Development

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in Moderna by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 56,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 21.6% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,228,000 after purchasing an additional 5,647 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter valued at $4,436,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 6,698.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 27,681,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,523,000 after purchasing an additional 27,274,128 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter valued at about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Trading Down 3.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $58.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.28 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $82.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.93 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.13) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 EPS for the current year.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. The company’s platform leverages synthetic mRNA to instruct cells to produce proteins that can prevent or treat diseases. Since its founding in 2010, Moderna has advanced from early-stage research into a broad pipeline of vaccine and therapeutic candidates designed to address infectious diseases, rare genetic disorders and chronic illnesses.

Moderna’s flagship product is its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, which was the first of its kind to receive emergency use authorization and later full approval in multiple jurisdictions.