EFG International AG Makes New Investment in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 54,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,799,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRNA. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter valued at $14,973,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter worth about $61,842,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter worth about $27,107,000. Brandywine Managers LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $666,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $486,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck’s individualized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, reportedly reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence by 49% in a late-stage study when used with Keytruda. The results reinforce Moderna’s strategy of expanding beyond COVID-19 vaccines and could support a large oncology opportunity. Skin cancer vaccine report
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded Moderna following the Phase 3 oncology data and estimated a potential cancer-vaccine market opportunity of approximately $9.2 billion. That outlook helped fuel the recent rally and improves confidence that Moderna may develop meaningful non-COVID revenue. Wolfe cancer-vaccine opportunity report
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA’s approval of the first mRNA-based flu vaccine highlights growing recognition of mRNA technology and may increase the strategic and patent value of platforms used by companies such as Moderna. FDA mRNA flu vaccine report
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are increasingly viewing Moderna as an oncology and platform-technology company rather than solely a COVID-19 vaccine maker. However, recent trading alerts and analyst-driven momentum appear to have amplified volatility, making the shares vulnerable to profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upgrade, the stock is giving back part of its rally because Moderna’s roughly $59 billion valuation remains difficult to justify against a loss-making business and weak near-term revenue. The company reported a quarterly loss and continues to face uncertainty over the timing and probability of commercializing its pipeline. Moderna valuation and pullback report
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage also cautions that the cancer-vaccine evidence remains limited and that manufacturing personalization, treatment costs, regulatory review and broad adoption could restrict the therapy’s eventual use. Cancer-vaccine barriers explainer
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna’s CEO warned that China’s state-backed investment in mRNA technology is intensifying global competition, potentially increasing pressure on intellectual property, pricing and long-term market share. China mRNA competition report

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $149.66 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.05 and its 200 day moving average is $58.46. Moderna, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.28 and a 1-year high of $176.66. 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 has a market cap of $59.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.73 and a beta of 0.91.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.13) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MRNA shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Brookline Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.31.

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.