Green Alpha Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 33,758 Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Green Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,364,000. Moderna makes up approximately 1.6% of Green Alpha Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Moderna by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Moderna by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,400. This 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. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moderna Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $145.07 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.28 and a 52-week high of $176.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.49 and a 200 day moving average of $56.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.16 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRNA. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.50.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are assigning substantial commercial potential to the cancer program. Jefferies reportedly estimates as much as $54 billion in peak global sales and raised its price target to $170, while coverage highlighted the possibility that the trial could establish an oncology opportunity comparable to Merck’s Keytruda franchise. Jefferies sees $54 billion peak sales for Moderna cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: The favorable Phase 3 outcome has triggered analyst upgrades, including William Blair moving Moderna to Outperform and Bank of America raising its rating to Neutral. The stock also reached a new 12-month high amid renewed enthusiasm for mRNA-based cancer treatments. Moderna raised to Outperform at William Blair
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading has been exceptionally volatile for a third consecutive session. Analysts attribute the sharp swings partly to heavy short interest and a subsequent short squeeze, while options activity suggests elevated volatility may persist even without new clinical information. Moderna rallies as mRNA trading whipsaws
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns remain significant after the recent surge. JPMorgan raised its price target to $77 but retained an Underweight rating, implying substantial downside from current levels. Commentary also cautioned that the clinical success does not eliminate development, regulatory, manufacturing, commercialization, and pipeline risks for Moderna or other mRNA companies. JPMorgan raises Moderna price target but keeps Underweight rating

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.