Moderna, Inc. $MRNA Shares Acquired by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,643 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Moderna were worth $8,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $161,642,545. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $119,168,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Moderna by 1,387.6% in the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 22,590 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Moderna by 2,042.6% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 69,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,013,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRNA opened at $258.38 on Thursday. Moderna, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.28 and a twelve month high of $258.72. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $187.78 and its 200-day moving average is $89.46.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna said its mRNA-2808 multiple myeloma data will be presented orally at the American Society of Hematology meeting. The early results included four confirmed responses among 11 heavily pretreated patients, supporting interest in the therapy’s approach of using mRNA to produce three cancer-targeting agents. Article: Moderna Soars 8% on Early Multiple Myeloma Data
• Positive Sentiment: A WHO technical advisory group recommended advancing Moderna’s investigational Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine, mRNA-1469, into a Phase 2/3 efficacy study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following encouraging preclinical and Phase 1 results. Article: Moderna Advances Investigational Bundibugyo Ebolavirus Vaccine Toward Phase 2/3 Study
• Positive Sentiment: A separate Moderna–Merck cancer vaccine program showed a 42% reduction in the risk of death and melanoma recurrence when combined with Keytruda in a late-stage trial, adding to the potential value of Moderna’s oncology pipeline. Article: Moderna’s Cancer Vaccine Is Incredibly Promising, but This Could Be a Major Obstacle to Its Success
• Neutral Sentiment: The myeloma findings are preliminary, based on a small group of patients, and the treatment is still investigational; the ASH presentation may provide more detail, but the data do not yet establish broader or lasting benefit. Article: Moderna Announces Oral Presentation of mRNA-2808 Clinical Data

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MRNA shares. Argus raised shares of Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Moderna from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (up from $167.00) on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, September 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction 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 $7,985,343.75. This trade represents a 36.98% decrease in their position. 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, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total transaction of $5,807,574.22. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 1,525,858 shares in the company, valued at $219,921,913.54. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 quarter. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.