Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 17,000 Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $94,910,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Moderna by 364.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,869,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,163,000 after acquiring an additional 2,251,497 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Moderna by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,877,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,690 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Moderna by 3.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,708,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,192 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 20.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,101,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,408 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Moderna from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Moderna from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group lowered Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $30.36.

Moderna Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of MRNA opened at $43.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.33 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.37. Moderna, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.28 and a twelve month high of $45.40.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.15) by $1.64. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 29.81% and a negative net margin of 139.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Moderna’s revenue for the quarter was down 45.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 23,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $703,186.44. Following the sale, the director owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,679.52. This trade represents a 85.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Five‑year Phase 2b data for Moderna & Merck’s individualized mRNA cancer vaccine (intismeran) + Keytruda show a sustained ~49% reduction in risk of recurrence or death in high‑risk melanoma — a meaningful clinical win that validates Moderna’s oncology approach and underpins potential late‑stage programs. Moderna, Merck’s skin cancer vaccine shows sustained benefit after five years
• Positive Sentiment: Company guidance and cost reductions: Moderna raised its 2025 revenue midpoint (now ~$1.9B) and trimmed operating expense forecasts, improving near‑term cash runway and reducing headline fear around burn — a key reason for the recent buying interest. Moderna Pops 17%—Is There Life in MRNA, Down 90% from COVID High?
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity shows elevated institutional/speculative activity around MRNA, indicating traders are positioning for volatility around upcoming data and company milestones (not a direct signal of fundamentals). Moderna’s Options: A Look at What the Big Money is Thinking
• Neutral Sentiment: Market writeups and headlines (Zacks, others) note the share uptick and recap the drivers above; useful for sentiment context but add no new fundamental data. Moderna (MRNA) Increases Despite Market Slip: Here’s What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Structural revenue risk: Moderna remains heavily dependent on COVID‑19 vaccine sales (nearly all recent revenue), and the stock is still far below its pandemic peak — sustained recovery depends on approvals/upsides beyond seasonal COVID boosters. Moderna Pops 17%—Is There Life in MRNA, Down 90% from COVID High?
• Negative Sentiment: Execution risk ahead: Moderna aims for breakeven by 2028 contingent on successful approval/commercial rollouts (flu vaccine, oncology pivotal readouts). Failed late‑stage results or slower commercial uptake would materially hurt the recovery narrative. Moderna Pops 17%—Is There Life in MRNA, Down 90% from COVID High?

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.