Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. Invests $988,000 in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 33,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 3,775.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of MRNA opened at $49.91 on Monday. Moderna, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.28 and a 12-month high of $59.55. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.12 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.17.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRNA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $36.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moderna news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $433,878.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,800.16. The trade was a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total value of $2,581,462.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,477,997 shares in the company, valued at $71,535,054.80. The trade was a 3.48% 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 sold a total of 71,752 shares of company stock valued at $3,453,843 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

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.