NFSG Corp Purchases 5,162 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

NFSG Corp grew its position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 2,581.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,362 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,162 shares during the quarter. NFSG Corp’s holdings in Moderna were worth $1,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $564,272,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Moderna by 4.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,384,000 after acquiring an additional 103,977 shares during the last quarter. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $161,642,545. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $139,317,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MRNA. Bradesco Corretora raised shares of Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up from $60.00) on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $236.50 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.28 and a 1-year high of $242.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.98.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its 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. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.13) earnings per share. Moderna’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm is building ahead of data from Moderna and Merck’s personalized melanoma vaccine program. The companies’ mRNA cancer-vaccine partnership is the primary catalyst behind the recent surge, with investors hoping clinical results could validate a major new growth market. Moderna outweighs bearish views ahead of cancer vaccine data
• Positive Sentiment: Merck’s chief executive said the companies expect manufacturing of their cancer vaccine to become faster over time. He described the production process as complex but increasingly well controlled, addressing an important potential commercialization concern. Merck CEO tells CNBC he expects breakthrough cancer vaccine will become faster to make
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its Moderna price target to $137 from $120 while retaining a Neutral rating. Although the target remains well below the current trading level, the increase reflects improved expectations ahead of the melanoma data. MRNA Stock Hits Fresh 52-Week Highs As Goldman Raises Target Ahead Of Melanoma Data
• Positive Sentiment: Money has rotated into healthcare and away from crowded technology trades, providing an additional momentum tailwind for Moderna and other biotechnology stocks. Moderna Rallies as Money Rotates Into Healthcare
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna’s flu-vaccine opportunity remains prospective; coverage on where consumers can obtain an mRNA flu shot highlights that such products are not yet broadly available, limiting any immediate revenue impact. Where Can I Get an mRNA Flu Shot?
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators warn that the stock’s dramatic year-to-date rebound has outpaced fundamentals. Moderna remains unprofitable, generates negative free cash flow, and is highly dependent on successful pipeline execution. Q3 results on November 6 and Analyst Day on November 12 could produce substantial volatility. Moderna Valuation Is Uncertain
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman’s $137 target implies roughly 42% downside from the quoted share price, underscoring the risk that expectations for cancer-vaccine data may already be heavily reflected in Moderna’s valuation. Moderna Stock Is Soaring on Cancer Vaccine Buzz

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total transaction of $5,807,574.22. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,525,858 shares in the company, valued at $219,921,913.54. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. This trade represents 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. Insiders have sold a total of 118,882 shares of company stock worth $16,862,280 in the last quarter. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can help prevent or treat disease, supporting the company’s work across infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

Moderna’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.