D.A. Davidson & CO. Decreases Holdings in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & Co. cut its Moderna stake by 33.7% in the first quarter, selling 28,170 shares and ending with 55,397 shares valued at about $2.8 million.
• Moderna reported a wider-than-expected loss in its latest quarter, posting EPS of ($3.40) versus the expected ($3.02), even though revenue of $389 million topped estimates and jumped 260% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $38.27, despite several firms raising their targets recently.

D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 33.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,397 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,170 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Moderna were worth $2,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Moderna in the fourth quarter worth about $378,299,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,209,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,707,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company's stock worth $212,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 123.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,788,951 shares of the company's stock worth $52,775,000 after purchasing an additional 987,312 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRNA opened at $61.82 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.59 and a beta of 0.94. Moderna, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.28 and a 52 week high of $85.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.95.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 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 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.52) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 125,088 shares of company stock valued at $6,193,713 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRNA. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Moderna from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Moderna from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $38.27.

Moderna Profile

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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