Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Takes $215,000 Position in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mmbg Investment Advisors CO. acquired a new position in Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $200,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $165,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,094,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $542,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRNA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America raised Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Phase 3 melanoma trial met both key endpoints. Intismeran, Moderna’s individualized mRNA neoantigen therapy, combined with Merck’s Keytruda, significantly improved recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival versus Keytruda alone in patients with resected, high-risk melanoma. The companies described the results as the first positive late-stage trial for a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine. Merck and Moderna Phase 3 trial announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The results support a broader cancer-treatment opportunity. Analysts and medical commentators said the outcome could validate Moderna’s mRNA platform for treating cancer and potentially open development opportunities across additional tumor types. The vaccine is tailored to mutations in an individual patient’s tumor, offering a potentially differentiated approach to personalized oncology. Moderna and Merck cancer vaccine breakthrough
• Positive Sentiment: Additional developments added to the bullish sentiment. The FDA approved Moderna’s first mRNA-based seasonal influenza vaccine, mFLUSIVA, while William Blair upgraded the stock to “outperform” and Bank of America moved its rating from “underperform” to “neutral.” FDA approval of Moderna mFLUSIVA
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting detailed trial data. Moderna and Merck released topline results, but analysts said full efficacy, safety and durability data will be important for assessing regulatory timing and the vaccine’s commercial potential.
• Negative Sentiment: The sharp rally raises execution and valuation risks. The move triggered substantial losses for short sellers and increased options activity, while the stock now reflects much higher expectations for successful approval, manufacturing and adoption. Any disappointing detailed data or regulatory delays could lead to volatility.

Moderna Price Performance

Moderna stock opened at $174.38 on Thursday. Moderna, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.28 and a 52-week high of $176.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.91 and a 200-day moving average of $54.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.13) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 EPS for the current year.

Moderna Company 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.