Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) Director Sells $1,550,700.00 in Stock

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $1,550,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,056,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,645,526.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Noubar Afeyan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 10th, Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of Moderna stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.12, for a total value of $1,606,800.00.
• On Wednesday, April 3rd, Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of Moderna stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.68, for a total transaction of $1,525,200.00.
• On Wednesday, March 27th, Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of Moderna stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.06, for a total transaction of $1,635,900.00.
• On Wednesday, March 20th, Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of Moderna stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.39, for a total transaction of $1,535,850.00.
• On Wednesday, March 13th, Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of Moderna stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.54, for a total transaction of $1,628,100.00.

Moderna Stock Performance

Moderna stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.41. 2,608,152 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,160,939. Moderna, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.55 and a 12-month high of $144.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $100.35 and its 200-day moving average is $93.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.83 billion, a PE ratio of -8.16 and a beta of 1.62.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.78) by $1.33. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 10.23% and a negative net margin of 68.84%. The business had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 44.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRNA shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer upgraded Moderna from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.49.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moderna by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,907,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,058,000 after acquiring an additional 6,248,623 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Moderna in the 4th quarter worth $628,359,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Moderna by 108.2% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,818,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984,458 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Moderna by 77.3% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,876,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690,341 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Moderna by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,225,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614,460 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers, develops, and commercializes messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Its respiratory vaccines include COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, spikevax, and hMPV/PIV3 vaccines; latent vaccines comprise cytomegalovirus, epstein-barr virus, herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines; public health vaccines consists of Zika, Nipah, Mpox vaccines; and infectious diseases vaccines, such as lyme and norovirus vaccines.