Collar Capital Management LLC Has $1.50 Million Stock Position in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Collar Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,704 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,139 shares during the period. Collar Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moderna were worth $1,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRNA. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter worth approximately $415,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Moderna by 732.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 10,185 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Moderna during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Moderna by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 8,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Moderna by 5.2% during 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. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna announced an expanded collaboration with CEPI to support preclinical work and Phase 1 testing of a Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine candidate, with up to $50 million in external funding helping offset development costs. Moderna and CEPI Expand Strategic Collaboration to Advance Potential Vaccine Against Bundibugyo Ebolavirus
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported 5-year follow-up data for intismeran autogene (V940), showing a 49% reduction in recurrence or death and a 59% reduction in distant metastasis or death versus KEYTRUDA alone in high-risk melanoma. Moderna and Merck Present 5-Year Data for Intismeran Autogene in Combination With KEYTRUDA
• Neutral Sentiment: Several follow-on articles and transcripts reiterated the same Ebola and melanoma headlines, reinforcing investor attention but not adding materially new information. Moderna partners with global health coalition to develop Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage of personalized mRNA cancer vaccine research in melanoma also supported the broader mRNA platform narrative, but these reports were about the field more than a direct new Moderna catalyst. A cancer vaccine made just for you. mRNA is back and it’s fighting melanoma

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $264,951.66. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $562,637.58. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,800.16. This represents a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,281 shares of company stock worth $3,280,293. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price target on Moderna and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore set a $35.00 price objective on Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Moderna from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moderna presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $35.73.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of Moderna stock opened at $46.06 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of -5.65 and a beta of 1.05. Moderna, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $59.55.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The business’s revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.52) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.49 EPS for the current year.

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.