Patton Fund Management Inc. Buys 80,920 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 1,080.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 88,410 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 80,920 shares during the quarter. Moderna makes up approximately 0.8% of Patton Fund Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Moderna were worth $4,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Moderna by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in Moderna by 3,775.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In related news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total value of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% 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, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of Moderna 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 sale, the director directly owned 3,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,800.16. This trade represents a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 125,088 shares of company stock worth $6,193,713 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRNA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $37.13.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna’s Science Day showcased an expanded pipeline that includes oncology, autoimmune disease, and next-generation mRNA programs, including a new in vivo CAR-T approach and T-cell engager candidates. Investors appear to be re-rating the stock on the prospect of multiple future commercial franchises beyond vaccines. Article
• Positive Sentiment: FDA advisory support for Moderna’s mRNA flu shot, mFlusiva, strengthened the case that its platform can win approvals outside COVID-19, potentially opening a second major commercial opportunity in respiratory vaccines for older adults. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted Moderna’s new cell therapy program and broader Science Day disclosures as the main reasons the stock is leading the market higher, with investors responding to signs that the company is building a more diversified biotech story. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage from Yahoo Finance and Seeking Alpha mainly recapped Moderna’s Science Day presentation and expanding mRNA platform, reinforcing the same positive narrative rather than adding a new standalone catalyst. Article Article
• Neutral Sentiment: One note on short interest reported unusual data showing zero shares, so it does not appear to be a meaningful driver of the move.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $67.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.25 and a beta of 1.05. Moderna, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $69.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. Moderna’s revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.52) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 EPS for the current year.

About Moderna

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.