Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stock Holdings in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 8.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 676,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,977 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Moderna were worth $32,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 498,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,706,000 after purchasing an additional 125,598 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its position in Moderna by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,291,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,085,000 after buying an additional 163,031 shares during the period. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth about $897,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth about $378,299,000. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp bought a new stake in Moderna in the fourth quarter worth about $907,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Price Performance

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $70.03 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $27.79 billion, a PE ratio of -8.59 and a beta of 1.05. Moderna, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.28 and a 52 week high of $73.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.21.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The business had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $236.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.52) EPS. Moderna’s revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Moderna from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $37.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $183,800.16. This trade represents a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 125,088 shares of company stock valued at $6,193,713 over the last 90 days. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moderna 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.