BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 30,599,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,142,877,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 7.66% of Moderna as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Moderna by 35.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Stock Up 177.0%

NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $174.38 on Thursday. Moderna, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.28 and a twelve month high of $176.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $64.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.84.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.13) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moderna News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Phase 3 melanoma trial met both key endpoints. Intismeran, Moderna’s individualized mRNA neoantigen therapy, combined with Merck’s Keytruda, significantly improved recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival versus Keytruda alone in patients with resected, high-risk melanoma. The companies described the results as the first positive late-stage trial for a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine. Merck and Moderna Phase 3 trial announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The results support a broader cancer-treatment opportunity. Analysts and medical commentators said the outcome could validate Moderna’s mRNA platform for treating cancer and potentially open development opportunities across additional tumor types. The vaccine is tailored to mutations in an individual patient’s tumor, offering a potentially differentiated approach to personalized oncology. Moderna and Merck cancer vaccine breakthrough
• Positive Sentiment: Additional developments added to the bullish sentiment. The FDA approved Moderna’s first mRNA-based seasonal influenza vaccine, mFLUSIVA, while William Blair upgraded the stock to “outperform” and Bank of America moved its rating from “underperform” to “neutral.” FDA approval of Moderna mFLUSIVA
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting detailed trial data. Moderna and Merck released topline results, but analysts said full efficacy, safety and durability data will be important for assessing regulatory timing and the vaccine’s commercial potential.
• Negative Sentiment: The sharp rally raises execution and valuation risks. The move triggered substantial losses for short sellers and increased options activity, while the stock now reflects much higher expectations for successful approval, manufacturing and adoption. Any disappointing detailed data or regulatory delays could lead to volatility.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRNA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Brookline Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, June 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

About Moderna

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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