VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys 2,400 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,750 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Moderna were worth $12,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Partners Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the third quarter valued at $773,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moderna during the third quarter worth about $361,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Moderna during the third quarter worth about $866,000. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new position in Moderna during the third quarter worth about $275,000. Finally, Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Moderna in the third quarter worth about $289,000. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRNA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.10.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total value of $5,807,574.22. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 1,525,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,921,913.54. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 74,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders sold a total of 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904 over the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna’s personalized cancer-vaccine candidate remains a key potential catalyst. Recent clinical data have encouraged investors, and Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel defended the melanoma results, saying the data could improve over time and that competitors may not easily replicate the company’s technology. Will Moderna Soar on Nov. 6? Moderna’s CEO discusses its cancer vaccine
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage comparing Moderna with BioNTech highlights the company’s oncology platform and its potential role in the growing mRNA cancer-vaccine market. Successful follow-up data could support Moderna’s long-term growth narrative. Moderna cancer results versus BioNTech
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is elevated ahead of Moderna’s quarterly earnings release. The report may provide updated financial guidance and more information about the company’s pipeline, but heavy searches alone do not change the underlying outlook. Moderna projected to announce quarterly earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect Moderna’s third-quarter earnings to decline, and Zacks says the company lacks the combination of factors typically associated with a likely earnings beat. That is weighing on expectations ahead of the report. Moderna Q3 earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: William Blair lowered Moderna to Market Perform, while an analyst also reduced the company’s fiscal 2028 EPS estimate. The actions reinforce concerns about the premium valuation, limited near-term earnings visibility and the time required for oncology programs to mature. Moderna rating lowered to Market Perform Moderna FY2028 EPS estimate lowered

Moderna Trading Down 0.5%

Moderna stock opened at $221.72 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.28 and a 52 week high of $254.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.75 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $182.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.52.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.13) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 EPS for the current year.

Moderna 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.