Insider Selling: Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) President Sells $5,883,845.67 in Stock

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) President Stephen Hoge sold 40,281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.07, for a total transaction of $5,883,845.67. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,562,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,165,576.03. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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.

Stephen Hoge also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 14th, Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of Moderna stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total transaction of $5,807,574.22.

Moderna Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ MRNA traded up $1.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $145.62. 8,795,681 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,582,703. Moderna, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.28 and a 12-month high of $176.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market cap of $58.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.18.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.13) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MRNA shares. Barclays increased their target price on Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. William Blair initiated coverage on Moderna in a research report on Friday, August 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Brookline Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.72.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 17.0% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 7,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Moderna by 208.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Moderna by 149.3% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 7,137 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $243,000. Finally, Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $268,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines and vaccines. Its platform is designed to provide cells with instructions to produce proteins that may help prevent or treat infectious diseases, cancer and other medical conditions.

The company’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults. Moderna also maintains a pipeline of investigational programs in areas such as seasonal influenza, cytomegalovirus, oncology and rare diseases.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Moderna serves markets in the United States and internationally through regulatory approvals, commercial partnerships and distribution arrangements.