Analyst MRNA Coverage Change
On February 24, 2023, two analyst firms, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (RANK#4) and SVB Leerink (RANK#38), released their research reports which provided updated coverage on Moderna’s stock after the company released it’s quarterly earnings report and forecast.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co lowered their target price to $127, and maintained the “Neutral” rating on the stock.
SVB Leerink Upgraded their rating from “Underperform” to “Market Perform” and cut their target price of $111 to a new target price of $93 per share.
Both analysts cited that the downgrades were based on a poor outlook for the company.
MRNA Stock Price Forecast & Analysis
According to the consensus of 14 analysts, the average target price for Moderna Inc’s stock over the next 12 months is USD 127.97, which is slightly lower than the company’s current stock price of USD 147.57. The average analyst rating for Moderna Inc is “Hold,” indicating that there is no strong consensus among analysts about the future direction of the company’s stock.
However, according to Stock Target Advisor’s own analysis of Moderna Inc’s stock, the outlook is “Bullish,” which is based on 10 positive signals and 4 negative signals. This suggests that there may be positive momentum building around the stock, despite the mixed analyst sentiment.
In terms of recent performance, Moderna Inc’s stock price has declined significantly over the past month, with a decrease of -25.07%. However, the stock price has also increased by +8.72% over the last year, which suggests that there may be potential for long-term growth.
Overall, the mixed analyst sentiment and recent volatility in Moderna Inc’s stock price suggest that investors should carefully evaluate the company’s performance and outlook before making any investment decisions.
Moderna’s Poor Earnings & Outlook
Moderna Inc. reported fourth-quarter FY22 earnings per share (EPS) of $3.61, compared to $11.29 a year ago, missing the consensus of $4.68. The company’s revenue was $5.08 billion, compared to $7.21 billion a year ago, slightly above the consensus of $5.02 billion, mainly due to a decline in COVID-19 vaccine sales. Moderna’s product sales for Q4 2022 were $4.9 billion, down 30% YoY due to lower sales volume compared to overall higher demand a year ago. The cost of sales for FY22 almost doubled from $2.62 billion to $5.4 billion, mainly due to charges related to COVID-19 products that have exceeded or are expected to exceed their approved shelf-lives, related cancellation charges, and an expense for unutilized manufacturing capacity. The operating income reached $1.58 billion, down from $5.4 billion a year ago. Moderna has COVID vaccine sales of approximately $5 billion currently contracted for 2023 delivery, with potential additional sales opportunities in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and other key markets. The company expects product sales of approximately $2.0 billion in the first half of 2023.