Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 11,364 Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 11,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $577,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Moderna in the first quarter valued at approximately $899,000. Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 498,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,706,000 after purchasing an additional 125,598 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,291,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,085,000 after purchasing an additional 163,031 shares during the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter worth $897,000. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter worth $378,299,000. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Trading Down 4.3%

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $53.86 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a one year low of $22.28 and a one year high of $85.60. 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 $21.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.74 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.04 and its 200-day moving average is $53.07.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $102.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.13) EPS. Moderna’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRNA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moderna from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Moderna from $49.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $42.13.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,800.16. This trade represents a 70.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 119,406 shares of company stock valued at $5,928,762 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FDA approval validates Moderna’s mRNA technology beyond COVID-19 and gives the company a potential new commercial growth driver in the seasonal influenza market. Moderna expects limited supplies to reach select retailers in the coming weeks. US FDA approves first mRNA flu shot from Moderna
• Positive Sentiment: The vaccine expands Moderna’s post-pandemic pipeline and could establish a platform for additional infectious-disease products. The company has also begun Phase 1 human testing of an investigational Ebola vaccine, broadening its longer-term pipeline. Moderna Advances Ebola Vaccine Into Human Testing
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm is being tempered by the vaccine’s initial restriction to adults 50 and older, the presence of established flu-shot competitors, and the fact that commercial availability will begin only gradually. The approval may also have been partly reflected in Moderna’s recent rally and strong year-to-date performance. Moderna Wins Flu Vaccine Approval, Is It Fully Priced?
• Negative Sentiment: The stock fell as traders appeared to “sell the news,” focusing on uncertainty over the vaccine’s near-term sales contribution rather than the approval itself. Moderna continues to face large losses, with analysts forecasting negative earnings for the full year. Moderna Just Got FDA Clearance for Flu Vaccine. The Stock Is Sliding.
• Negative Sentiment: Some brokerages maintain a “Reduce” consensus rating, signaling concerns about valuation, execution and the pace at which Moderna can replace declining COVID-related revenue with products such as mFLUSIVA.

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.