Vega Investment Solutions Purchases Shares of 6,939 Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in 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 purchased 6,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $137,000. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 274,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,402 shares during the period. Theleme Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $564,272,000. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,176,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $942,000. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Stock Down 4.3%

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $138.89 on Tuesday. Moderna, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $176.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $55.45 billion, a PE ratio of -17.38 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.22 and its 200 day moving average is $56.87.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, delivered a positive Phase 3 result in melanoma when used with Keytruda. The result marks an important validation of Moderna’s mRNA platform and could support a substantial long-term oncology opportunity. Should You Buy Moderna Stock Following Its Cancer Breakthrough?
• Positive Sentiment: The cancer-vaccine success has strengthened investor confidence in Moderna’s pipeline and helped drive a major re-rating of MRNA. Management believes intismeran autogene could have significant long-term potential, while Moderna’s recently approved mRNA flu vaccine provides another commercial opportunity. Moderna Is Betting Big on Its Cancer Vaccine
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are now focused on the next steps: regulatory submissions, durability of the clinical benefit, manufacturing capacity, pricing, and adoption. The Phase 3 result is significant, but commercialization and revenue generation remain several steps away. Why Moderna’s and Merck’s Cancer Vaccine Is a Breakthrough for mRNA
• Negative Sentiment: After an approximately 392% year-to-date surge, traders locked in gains across biotech and pharmaceutical stocks. With no fresh clinical or regulatory announcement to extend the advance, Moderna and related names cooled. Myriad Genetics and Moderna Shares Plummet, What You Need To Know
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that personalized cancer vaccines may be difficult to manufacture at scale, less broadly applicable, and less lucrative than current enthusiasm suggests. Moderna also faces pipeline execution risks, competition, and intensifying Chinese investment in mRNA biotechnology. Moderna’s mRNA Cancer Vaccine Marks a Major Leap in Personalized Oncology

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.