Moderna, Inc. $MRNA is Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd.’s 2nd Largest Position

Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 695,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Moderna comprises 10.5% of Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd.’s holdings in Moderna were worth $48,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 1st quarter worth approximately $415,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 732.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 10,185 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter valued at $230,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Moderna by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 8,706 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Moderna by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 2,410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Moderna from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and upped their target price for the company from $40.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.72.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported that the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial of intismeran autogene plus Keytruda met its primary recurrence-free-survival endpoint in resected stage IIB–IV melanoma. It was the first positive Phase 3 result for an mRNA-based cancer therapy and strengthens Moderna’s long-term oncology outlook, although detailed data have not yet been released. Moderna melanoma trial article
• Positive Sentiment: Technical analysts describe the recent consolidation as a potential bullish pennant following the cancer-vaccine-driven breakout. Elevated short interest could provide additional buying pressure if the shares break above resistance. Moderna technical forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Legal Officer Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares for approximately $486,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. Because the transaction was planned and tax-related, it provides limited insight into management’s view of Moderna’s valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. Redburn downgraded Moderna from Neutral to Sell, saying the cancer-vaccine rally has made the stock overvalued. The firm raised its price target to $81 from $40, but the new target remains well below recent trading levels, intensifying profit-taking concerns. Rothschild Moderna downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: GSK is advancing an mRNA influenza vaccine toward Phase 3 after reporting stronger immune responses in Phase 2. The competing program could challenge Moderna’s newly approved mFlusiva and increase pressure on its commercial vaccine pipeline. GSK mRNA flu vaccine competition

Moderna Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $145.55 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.28 and a twelve month high of $176.66. The stock has a market cap of $58.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.75 and a 200 day moving average of $63.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.13) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale 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. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total transaction of $485,766.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% 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. Corporate 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.