Theleme Partners LLP Makes New $564.27 Million Investment in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Theleme Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 8,057,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $564,272,000. Moderna accounts for 33.5% of Theleme Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,176,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $942,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,052,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $542,000. Finally, Commerce Bank bought a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,869,000. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. 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

Shares of NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $145.07 on Monday. Moderna, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $176.66. The stock has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.16 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $68.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.13) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Moderna News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRNA. Brookline Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

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.