Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Moderna Put Options (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 128,500 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 157% compared to the average daily volume of 49,924 put options.

Moderna Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MRNA traded down $2.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.85. The company had a trading volume of 24,355,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,710,303. The stock has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.33 and a beta of 1.69. Moderna has a 52 week low of $35.80 and a 52 week high of $170.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.56 and its 200-day moving average is $96.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.89) by $1.92. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 17.68% and a negative net margin of 43.77%. Moderna’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.39) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Moderna will post -9.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Moderna from $70.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Moderna from $60.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays cut their price target on Moderna from $125.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Moderna from $140.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Moderna from $178.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $42,985.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $571,440.60. This trade represents a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,930 shares of company stock worth $217,170 in the last three months. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other 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.