California State Teachers Retirement System Buys 27,274,128 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 6,698.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,681,318 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 27,274,128 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 6.93% of Moderna worth $1,938,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRNA. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Moderna in the first quarter valued at approximately $899,000. Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth $161,642,545. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $119,168,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 1,387.6% during the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,218 shares of the company's stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 22,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 498,693 shares of the company's stock worth $14,706,000 after acquiring an additional 125,598 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total transaction of $485,766.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRNA. Argus raised Moderna from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $81.00 target price on Moderna in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Brookline Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Moderna from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.72.

Moderna News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and upcoming data readouts supported the stock. Moderna rallied in Friday morning trading despite limited movement among peers. UBS reportedly identified three near-term “INT” data readouts, potentially giving investors multiple upcoming catalysts to anticipate. However, the reports did not provide detailed results or confirm that any readout will be positive. Moderna Rallies 8% on 2026 Melt-Up Momentum Even While BioNTech and Merck Stay Flat Moderna Set for 3 Near-Term INT Data Readouts, UBS Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Congressional trading coverage offers no clear Moderna-specific catalyst. A report discussing recent stock transactions by members of Congress included Moderna-related investor-monitoring activity, but it did not identify a material change in the company’s outlook or operations. Congressional Stock Transactions
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears unreliable. The report listed both current and prior short interest at zero and calculated a zero-day short-interest ratio, with an invalid percentage change. Therefore, it provides little useful information about short-covering or bearish positioning in Moderna.
• Negative Sentiment: Industry commercialization hurdles remain a risk. Manufacturing complexity and other barriers could slow the development and commercialization of personalized mRNA cancer vaccines, highlighting longer-term execution risks for Moderna and its peers. mRNA Cancer Vaccines’ Biggest Barriers to Market

Moderna Stock Up 5.4%

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $143.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The business's 50-day moving average is $92.35 and its 200 day moving average is $66.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of -18.02 and a beta of 1.10. Moderna, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $176.66.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.13) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Moderna Profile

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines and vaccines. Its platform is designed to provide cells with instructions to produce proteins that may help prevent or treat infectious diseases, cancer and other medical conditions.

The company's commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults. Moderna also maintains a pipeline of investigational programs in areas such as seasonal influenza, cytomegalovirus, oncology and rare diseases.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Moderna serves markets in the United States and internationally through regulatory approvals, commercial partnerships and distribution arrangements.

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