Centaurus Financial Inc. Takes Position in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRNA. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 148.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Moderna by 35.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported that their personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine, intismeran, combined with Keytruda, met the goals of a Phase 3 study involving 1,137 patients. The treatment reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence and distant spread versus Keytruda alone, strengthening the case for Moderna’s oncology pipeline and the commercial potential of the partnership. Reuters cancer vaccine breakthrough article
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA approved Moderna’s updated 2026–2027 Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 vaccines, targeting the XFG subvariant. The approval preserves access to the seasonal COVID-19 vaccine market, though future demand remains an important uncertainty. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded Moderna from “Hold” to “Buy” and assigned a $180 price target, indicating additional potential upside based on the company’s oncology opportunity and recent clinical progress. Argus upgrade article
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer advised a viewer to hold Moderna after the stock’s sharp rally, reflecting continued optimism about the Phase 3 cancer-vaccine result but also caution following the run-up. Jim Cramer Moderna commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna priced an upsized $2.6 billion offering of zero-coupon convertible senior notes due 2032, increased from the initially proposed $2.0 billion. Proceeds may fund oncology investments and debt repayment, but the larger financing raised concerns about future share dilution and explains much of the selling pressure. Moderna convertible notes offering
• Negative Sentiment: BioNTech’s decision to halt a mid-stage personalized mRNA colorectal-cancer vaccine trial after a review weakened sentiment across the mRNA oncology sector, raising broader questions about the difficulty of translating promising technology into successful cancer treatments. BioNTech colorectal cancer trial article

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $137.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.27 and a beta of 0.91. Moderna, Inc. has a one year low of $22.28 and a one year high of $176.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.13) earnings per share. Moderna’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 value of $2,739,870.32. Following the sale, 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 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MRNA shares. Brookline Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. William Blair assumed coverage on Moderna in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.53.

Moderna 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.