Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 450,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,516,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.11% of Moderna as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Moderna by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in Moderna by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Moderna by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Moderna by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in Moderna by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Phase 3 melanoma success validates Moderna’s mRNA platform. Moderna and Merck said their personalized cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, combined with Keytruda, met both recurrence-free-survival and distant-metastasis-free-survival endpoints in high-risk, fully resected Stage IIB-IV melanoma patients. The result is described as the first positive late-stage trial for a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine and could support regulatory filings as early as 2027. Merck and Moderna Phase 3 trial announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Investors see potential beyond COVID-19 vaccines. Analysts believe a successful personalized oncology product could establish a major new revenue stream and raise the value of Moderna’s broader cancer pipeline, including programs targeting lung, kidney and bladder cancers. Jefferies estimated potential global peak sales of approximately $54 billion and raised its price target to $170, while other estimates were more conservative. Moderna oncology platform draws Street value
• Neutral Sentiment: The sharp move was amplified by a short squeeze. Reports estimate that short sellers faced billions of dollars in mark-to-market losses after the trial news, forcing some to buy shares to cover positions. This technical support can intensify gains but may not represent sustained fundamental demand. Moderna short-sellers report
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and valuation concerns are driving the pullback. The stock’s earlier surge priced in substantial success, and several analysts’ revised targets remained below the prevailing market price. Morgan Stanley raised its target but maintained an equal-weight rating, citing limited near-term upside. Moderna valuation concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Important risks remain. Moderna has released topline results, but investors are awaiting detailed data, regulatory review and eventual commercialization. Doctors and analysts have also cautioned that enthusiasm may be running ahead of the evidence, leaving the shares vulnerable to further volatility. Moderna personalized mRNA shot analysis

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. Brookline Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair upgraded shares of Moderna from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.25.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $133.32 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.28 and a 52-week high of $176.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $53.23 billion, a PE ratio of -16.69 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.47.

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

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.