Aufman Associates Inc Has $1.27 Million Stock Holdings in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• Aufman Associates Inc boosted its Moderna stake by 146.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 43,200 shares worth about $1.27 million. Moderna now makes up roughly 0.7% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 15th-largest holding.
• Analysts remain cautious on Moderna overall: the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $35.73. Out of 18 analysts, two rate it a Buy, eleven Hold, and five Sell.
• Moderna’s latest results showed revenue of $389 million, well above estimates, but it still posted a loss of $3.40 per share, missing expectations. Insiders also sold shares recently, including Director Abbas Hussain and President Stephen Hoge.

Aufman Associates Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 146.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,200 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,691 shares during the quarter. Moderna makes up about 0.7% of Aufman Associates Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Aufman Associates Inc's holdings in Moderna were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 1st quarter worth about $415,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 732.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,575 shares of the company's stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 10,185 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Moderna by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 8,706 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Moderna by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,348,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $35.73.

Moderna Price Performance

MRNA stock opened at $47.44 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $49.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.31. The firm has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.82 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Moderna, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $59.55.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The business's revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.52) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at $562,637.58. This represents a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total value of $2,581,462.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,477,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,535,054.80. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 68,281 shares of company stock worth $3,280,293 over the last three months. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

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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