NEOS Investment Management LLC Purchases 5,811 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,031 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,811 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Moderna were worth $3,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRNA. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,142,877,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Moderna in the fourth quarter worth $378,299,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 15.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,131 shares during the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $564,272,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moderna by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,621,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,290,000 after purchasing an additional 309,126 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In related news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 74,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRNA. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Brookline Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group set a $81.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus raised shares of Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.72.

Moderna Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $145.55 on Monday. Moderna, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.28 and a 1-year high of $176.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.75 and a 200 day moving average of $63.60. The firm has a market cap of $58.11 billion, a PE ratio of -18.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.13) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported that the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial of intismeran autogene plus Keytruda met its primary recurrence-free-survival endpoint in resected stage IIB–IV melanoma. It was the first positive Phase 3 result for an mRNA-based cancer therapy and strengthens Moderna’s long-term oncology outlook, although detailed data have not yet been released. Moderna melanoma trial article
• Positive Sentiment: Technical analysts describe the recent consolidation as a potential bullish pennant following the cancer-vaccine-driven breakout. Elevated short interest could provide additional buying pressure if the shares break above resistance. Moderna technical forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Legal Officer Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares for approximately $486,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. Because the transaction was planned and tax-related, it provides limited insight into management’s view of Moderna’s valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. Redburn downgraded Moderna from Neutral to Sell, saying the cancer-vaccine rally has made the stock overvalued. The firm raised its price target to $81 from $40, but the new target remains well below recent trading levels, intensifying profit-taking concerns. Rothschild Moderna downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: GSK is advancing an mRNA influenza vaccine toward Phase 3 after reporting stronger immune responses in Phase 2. The competing program could challenge Moderna’s newly approved mFlusiva and increase pressure on its commercial vaccine pipeline. GSK mRNA flu vaccine competition

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.