Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. has reduced its stake in Moderna, Inc. by 35.8%, now holding approximately 6.45% of the company, valued at $707 million.
• Moderna's stock price has experienced significant volatility, with a 12-month range between $23.15 and $125.68, currently trading around $34.01.
• Research analysts have given Moderna an average rating of "Hold", with an average price target of $46.11 and mixed ratings from various firms, including multiple downgrades on their price targets.

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its holdings in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 35.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,948,558 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,941,013 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 6.45% of Moderna worth $707,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 49,215 shares of the company's stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 8,432 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Moderna by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 14,950 shares of the company's stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors increased its position in shares of Moderna by 23.5% during the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 15,534 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 2,958 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Moderna by 4.1% during the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 452,713 shares of the company's stock worth $12,834,000 after buying an additional 17,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Moderna by 0.6% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 184,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,235,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Trading Up 0.4%

Moderna stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.15. The stock had a trading volume of 5,367,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,132,097. The company has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of -3.91 and a beta of 1.84. Moderna, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.15 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The firm's fifty day moving average is $28.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.50.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($2.52) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.92) by $0.40. Moderna had a negative net margin of 105.67% and a negative return on equity of 28.69%. The firm had revenue of $108.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($3.07) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 35.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRNA. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Moderna from $39.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Moderna from $50.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Cowen began coverage on Moderna in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Moderna from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.11.

About Moderna

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.