Moderna, Inc. $MRNA Stock Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,054 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moderna were worth $7,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $564,272,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 4.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,384,000 after purchasing an additional 103,977 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Moderna by 59.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,392,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,549,000 after purchasing an additional 891,072 shares during the period. Finally, Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter worth $161,642,545. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Stock Down 1.2%

MRNA stock opened at $200.10 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.28 and a twelve month high of $254.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $79.89 billion, a PE ratio of -25.04 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $172.79 and a 200 day moving average of $96.96.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.13) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRNA. Bank of America increased their price objective on Moderna from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Moderna from $45.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Moderna from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the president directly owned 1,525,858 shares in the company, valued at $219,921,913.54. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jamey Mock sold 34,836 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $4,685,093.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. This represents a 36.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904 over the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported positive Phase 3 INTerpath-001 results for the personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, used with Keytruda. The treatment reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42%, while also improving distant metastasis-free survival. Oncologists described the findings as a major advance in melanoma care. Nature article
• Positive Sentiment: The results strengthen the case for Moderna’s oncology pipeline and could support a major future revenue stream beyond COVID-19 vaccines, particularly if additional trials demonstrate benefits in other cancers. Moderna has also advanced its mRNA bird-flu vaccine into a late-stage trial, adding another potential pipeline catalyst. Bird flu vaccine trial article
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna’s recent addition to the Nasdaq-100 and analyst support provide structural and sentiment benefits, but these factors have less immediate influence than the cancer-vaccine readout. The stock had already posted an exceptionally strong rally, leaving the valuation highly sensitive to new clinical information. Nasdaq-100 inclusion article
• Negative Sentiment: Partial trial data appeared on social media ahead of Moderna and Merck’s planned ESMO presentation, triggering extreme volatility and a sharp selloff. The premature release disrupted the expected news event and encouraged a “sell-the-news” reaction. CNBC data leak article
• Negative Sentiment: Although clinically meaningful, the 42% reduction fell short of the market’s very high expectations after Moderna’s dramatic run-up. Investors also questioned whether the results will translate beyond melanoma, how quickly the product could reach the market, and its eventual commercial opportunity. The breach of near-term technical support and heightened trading swings add further pressure. Zacks analysis

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 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.