Stephen Hoge Sells 160,009 Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) President Stephen Hoge sold 160,009 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.84, for a total transaction of $7,814,839.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 1,457,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,180,734.68. This trade represents a 9.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of MRNA traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $51.37. The stock had a trading volume of 7,937,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,882,565. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.29 billion, a PE ratio of -7.07 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.83. Moderna, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $55.20.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The company reported ($2.11) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.79) by $0.68. Moderna had a negative net margin of 145.16% and a negative return on equity of 30.15%. The company had revenue of $678.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.91) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.61 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Moderna from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 price objective on Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $31.87.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the fourth quarter worth about $2,425,000. Hamilton Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,098,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Moderna by 143.3% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 68,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 40,202 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in Moderna in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,416,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Moderna by 1,111.0% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 108,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after buying an additional 99,678 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

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.