Weiss Asset Management LP Has $4.76 Million Position in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Weiss Asset Management LP grew its position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 190.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 93,720 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,500 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Moderna were worth $4,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the first quarter worth about $415,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moderna by 732.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 10,185 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 1st quarter valued at about $230,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Moderna by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 8,706 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Moderna by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Price Performance

MRNA opened at $54.07 on Monday. Moderna, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.28 and a 1-year high of $85.60. The stock has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a PE ratio of -6.63 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 260.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.52) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $264,951.66. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $562,637.58. This represents a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 quarter. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRNA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Moderna from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moderna from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Moderna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

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.