Moderna Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 143,752 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 38% compared to the average daily volume of 104,486 call options.

Moderna Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:MRNA traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $34.51. The stock had a trading volume of 9,035,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,525,375. The stock has a market cap of $13.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.72 and a beta of 1.86. Moderna has a 12-month low of $29.25 and a 12-month high of $170.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI set a $50.00 price target on Moderna in a report on Friday, February 14th. HSBC upgraded Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Moderna from $96.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its position in Moderna by 121.8% during the 4th 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 acquired a new position in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth $18,084,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Moderna by 17.8% in the fourth 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. acquired a new stake in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 4th quarter worth $225,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.