Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Makes New Investment in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRNA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $564,272,000. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $161,642,545. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $139,317,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,168,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRNA opened at $198.85 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $173.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.87. Moderna, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.28 and a 1-year high of $254.48. 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) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.13) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 39,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total transaction of $8,640,084.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 1,636,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,222,626.80. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold 197,251 shares of company stock valued at $33,875,904 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial met its primary endpoint. Adding intismeran to Merck’s Keytruda reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42% versus Keytruda alone; the combination also reduced distant metastasis or death by 38%. The vaccine’s delayed improvement after six months could support the case for a durable immune response. Merck and Moderna’s Cancer Vaccine Worked—Who Gets Paid?
• Positive Sentiment: The melanoma program could become a major revenue source for Moderna if approved. Analysts cited in the coverage estimate peak annual melanoma sales of approximately $5.4 billion, with Moderna and Merck sharing development costs and profits equally. Regulatory filing timing and manufacturing plans are now key catalysts. Moderna and Merck’s Promising Skin Cancer Vaccine
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to Moderna’s next earnings report for updates on losses, declining COVID revenue, product launches and the broader pipeline. The company remains unprofitable, making progress toward commercializing newer products especially important. What to Expect From Moderna’s Next Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: The Phase 3 benefit was below the roughly 49% recurrence reduction from the earlier study and below what investors had priced in. The resulting selloff suggests the stock’s valuation—largely based on future cancer-vaccine revenue—left little room for disappointment. Commercial execution is also unproven because each vaccine is individually manufactured for a patient. Moderna’s Rally May Have Run Out of Steam

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRNA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Moderna from $45.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Bradesco Corretora raised shares of Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.10.

Moderna 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 stimulate immune responses or support the treatment of disease. The company’s research programs span infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions and other therapeutic areas.

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.