Vega Investment Solutions Takes $486,000 Position in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRNA. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $899,000. Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter worth $161,642,545,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter worth $119,168,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Moderna by 1,387.6% in the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,696,000 after buying an additional 22,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Moderna by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 498,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,706,000 after buying an additional 125,598 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRNA. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.31.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of Moderna stock opened at $138.89 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $70.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.87. Moderna, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.28 and a 52 week high of $176.66. The company has a market capitalization of $55.45 billion, a PE ratio of -17.38 and a beta of 0.91.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The business’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. As a group, analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Moderna

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

Insider Activity

In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 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 transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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.