Acadian Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Moderna, Inc. by 313.2% during the first quarter, holding 167,499 shares valued at approximately $4.75 million.
• Despite recent institutional investment interest, Moderna's stock has seen a 7.4% decline, with analysts projecting a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $41.81.
• Moderna reported earnings per share of ($2.13), surpassing analysts' expectations, but showed a significant revenue decrease of 41.1% year-over-year.

Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 313.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,499 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 126,961 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Moderna were worth $4,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRNA. S Bank Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the first quarter worth $25,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Moderna in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in Moderna by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,128 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Moderna from $40.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Moderna from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.81.

Moderna Stock Down 7.4%

Moderna stock opened at $23.51 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.15 and a 52-week high of $75.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.12 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.17.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.99) by $0.86. Moderna had a negative net margin of 94.31% and a negative return on equity of 25.96%. The business had revenue of $142.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($3.33) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moderna has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moderna 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.

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