Abbas Hussain Sells 5,682 Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock

Key Points

• Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of Moderna on May 1 at an average price of $46.63 (proceeds ~$264,952) under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his stake by 32.01% to 12,066 shares (≈$562,638).
• Moderna reported Q1 EPS of ($3.40), missing consensus of ($3.02), while revenue of $389.0M beat estimates of $236.37M and rose ~260% year-over-year, though the company still shows negative margins and return on equity.
• Analysts have an average rating of Reduce with a $35.73 consensus price target, even as the stock traded up 4.3% to $47.30 on the news.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total value of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Moderna Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of Moderna stock traded up $1.93 on Monday, reaching $47.30. The company had a trading volume of 7,582,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,713,134. The firm has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.80 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $51.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.47. Moderna, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $59.55.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.02) by ($0.38). Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The company had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $236.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.52) EPS. Moderna's revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRNA shares. Evercore set a $35.00 price target on Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Leerink Partners reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Moderna from a "market perform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $35.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRNA. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Moderna by 3,775.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in Moderna by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moderna Company 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.

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