Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 32,310 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,266 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,310 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Moderna were worth $2,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 94.1% during the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 3,775.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 137.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of MRNA opened at $54.98 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.70. The company has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.56 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.29. Moderna, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $59.55.

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

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other Moderna news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 23,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $703,186.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,679.52. The trade was a 85.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 160,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.84, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 10.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRNA. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Berenberg Bank set a $28.00 price target on Moderna in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Moderna from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $32.33.

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.