Legal Advantage Investments Inc. Takes $1.24 Million Position in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Legal Advantage Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 48,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,244,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,708,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312,192 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 19.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,877,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,690 shares during the period. Theleme Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 8.6% in the second quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 7,868,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,100,000 after purchasing an additional 626,420 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Moderna by 20.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,101,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Moderna by 0.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,597,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,982,000 after purchasing an additional 11,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Stock Performance

Moderna stock opened at $31.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of -3.86 and a beta of 1.11. Moderna, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $48.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.41.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.15) by $1.64. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 29.81% and a negative net margin of 139.61%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $893.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 45.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 23,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $703,186.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,924 shares in the company, valued at $115,679.52. This trade represents a 85.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRNA. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Moderna from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Moderna from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Berenberg Bank set a $28.00 target price on Moderna in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Moderna from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $29.21.

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.