First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP boosted its Moderna stake by 59.3% in the first quarter, ending with 2.39 million shares worth about $121.5 million.
• Moderna reported a wider-than-expected loss in its latest quarter, posting EPS of -$3.40 versus estimates of -$3.02, though revenue of $389 million easily topped expectations and rose 260.2% year over year.
• Sentiment remains cautious: insiders have sold shares in recent months, and analysts overall maintain a “Reduce” consensus with an average price target of $40, below the stock’s recent price around $57.

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 59.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,392,693 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 891,072 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.60% of Moderna worth $121,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moderna in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the first quarter worth $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moderna by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 148.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $57.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $58.42 and its 200 day moving average is $51.75. Moderna, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.28 and a 1-year high of $85.60.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $389.00 million during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($2.52) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. The trade was 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 accessible 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 Moderna 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 sale, the director owned 12,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRNA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moderna from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Moderna from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Moderna in a 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $40.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRNA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report).

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.