Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 11,211 Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the first quarter worth about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Moderna by 148.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Moderna by 35.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moderna Trading Down 5.8%

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $149.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $59.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.73 and a beta of 0.91. Moderna, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $176.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.46.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm earned ($2.13) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck’s individualized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, reportedly reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence by 49% in a late-stage study when used with Keytruda. The results reinforce Moderna’s strategy of expanding beyond COVID-19 vaccines and could support a large oncology opportunity. Skin cancer vaccine report
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded Moderna following the Phase 3 oncology data and estimated a potential cancer-vaccine market opportunity of approximately $9.2 billion. That outlook helped fuel the recent rally and improves confidence that Moderna may develop meaningful non-COVID revenue. Wolfe cancer-vaccine opportunity report
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA’s approval of the first mRNA-based flu vaccine highlights growing recognition of mRNA technology and may increase the strategic and patent value of platforms used by companies such as Moderna. FDA mRNA flu vaccine report
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are increasingly viewing Moderna as an oncology and platform-technology company rather than solely a COVID-19 vaccine maker. However, recent trading alerts and analyst-driven momentum appear to have amplified volatility, making the shares vulnerable to profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upgrade, the stock is giving back part of its rally because Moderna’s roughly $59 billion valuation remains difficult to justify against a loss-making business and weak near-term revenue. The company reported a quarterly loss and continues to face uncertainty over the timing and probability of commercializing its pipeline. Moderna valuation and pullback report
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage also cautions that the cancer-vaccine evidence remains limited and that manufacturing personalization, treatment costs, regulatory review and broad adoption could restrict the therapy’s eventual use. Cancer-vaccine barriers explainer
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna’s CEO warned that China’s state-backed investment in mRNA technology is intensifying global competition, potentially increasing pressure on intellectual property, pricing and long-term market share. China mRNA competition report

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRNA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. William Blair raised Moderna from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America upgraded Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.31.

About Moderna

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.