California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 58,529 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Moderna stake by 16.8%, purchasing 58,529 additional shares to hold 407,190 shares worth approximately $20.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.33% of the company.
• Moderna’s latest quarter showed a narrower-than-expected loss of $1.97 per share and $145 million in revenue, while management reduced its 2026 operating-expense outlook. However, the company remains challenged by declining COVID-19 vaccine sales and a $782 million GAAP net loss.
• Investor sentiment remains cautious after Moderna’s norovirus vaccine trial failed to meet interim success criteria. Analysts maintain a consensus “Reduce” rating with a $40 price target, below the reported $54.82 share price.

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 16.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 407,190 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 58,529 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Moderna worth $20,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 143.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,436 shares of the company's stock worth $1,699,000 after acquiring an additional 19,704 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Moderna by 74.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 168,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,538,000 after acquiring an additional 71,888 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Moderna in the first quarter worth about $577,000. Weiss Asset Management LP raised its position in Moderna by 190.9% in the first quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP now owns 93,720 shares of the company's stock worth $4,761,000 after purchasing an additional 61,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Moderna by 59.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 21,850 shares of the company's stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 8,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna reported second-quarter EPS of -$1.97, better than the roughly -$2.03 consensus and an improvement from -$2.13 a year earlier. Revenue was approximately $145 million, while management reiterated its plan for up to 10% revenue growth in 2026. Moderna Reports Q2 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company improved its 2026 operating-expense outlook by about $200 million and now expects year-end cash of $4.7 billion to $5.2 billion, supporting its effort to reduce cash burn. Moderna also faces a potentially important catalyst on August 5, when regulators are scheduled to decide on its seasonal flu vaccine candidate, mFLUSIVA. Moderna Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading activity showed elevated interest in Moderna call options, with 82,913 contracts acquired versus a typical daily volume of 48,590. This may indicate speculative bullish positioning, but options activity alone does not establish a sustained change in investor sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna’s Phase 3 mRNA-1403 norovirus vaccine trial did not meet the statistical criteria for early success at its interim analysis. The company plans to add another participant cohort, extending the trial into a fourth season and delaying clarity on a potential commercial opportunity. Moderna Adds New Cohort to Phase III Vaccine Trial
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Moderna’s dependence on declining COVID-19 vaccine sales. Although the quarterly loss narrowed, the company still posted a GAAP net loss of about $782 million, and reports characterized revenue as weaker than Wall Street expected. The norovirus setback therefore outweighed the earnings and cost-control improvements. Moderna Misses Quarterly Revenue Estimates on COVID Vaccine Weakness

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRNA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on Moderna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Moderna from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Moderna from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Moderna Trading Down 5.4%

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $54.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.86 and a beta of 0.94. Moderna, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.28 and a 12-month high of $85.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.51.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.13) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $183,800.16. The trade was a 70.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 119,406 shares of company stock valued at $5,928,762 in the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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