Commerce Bank Purchases Shares of 55,243 Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Commerce Bank purchased a new position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 55,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,869,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter valued at about $1,013,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth about $785,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth about $263,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $325,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, delivered a positive Phase 3 result in melanoma when used with Keytruda. The result marks an important validation of Moderna’s mRNA platform and could support a substantial long-term oncology opportunity. Should You Buy Moderna Stock Following Its Cancer Breakthrough?
• Positive Sentiment: The cancer-vaccine success has strengthened investor confidence in Moderna’s pipeline and helped drive a major re-rating of MRNA. Management believes intismeran autogene could have significant long-term potential, while Moderna’s recently approved mRNA flu vaccine provides another commercial opportunity. Moderna Is Betting Big on Its Cancer Vaccine
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are now focused on the next steps: regulatory submissions, durability of the clinical benefit, manufacturing capacity, pricing, and adoption. The Phase 3 result is significant, but commercialization and revenue generation remain several steps away. Why Moderna’s and Merck’s Cancer Vaccine Is a Breakthrough for mRNA
• Negative Sentiment: After an approximately 392% year-to-date surge, traders locked in gains across biotech and pharmaceutical stocks. With no fresh clinical or regulatory announcement to extend the advance, Moderna and related names cooled. Myriad Genetics and Moderna Shares Plummet, What You Need To Know
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that personalized cancer vaccines may be difficult to manufacture at scale, less broadly applicable, and less lucrative than current enthusiasm suggests. Moderna also faces pipeline execution risks, competition, and intensifying Chinese investment in mRNA biotechnology. Moderna’s mRNA Cancer Vaccine Marks a Major Leap in Personalized Oncology

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MRNA. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other 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 transaction, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 company insiders.

Moderna Stock Performance

Moderna stock opened at $138.89 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $55.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.38 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50 day moving average is $70.22 and its 200 day moving average is $56.87. Moderna, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.28 and a twelve month high of $176.66.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.13) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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