Friedenthal Financial Invests $1.10 Million in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• Friedenthal Financial opened a new position in Moderna during the first quarter, buying 21,574 shares valued at about $1.10 million.
• Institutional interest in Moderna remains high, with several funds adding shares and 75.33% of the stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Wall Street is still cautious on Moderna despite higher price targets from some firms: the stock’s consensus rating is “Reduce” with an average target price of $36.60, while Moderna’s shares recently traded at $60.42.

Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 21,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 125,598 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Moderna by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,291,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,085,000 after buying an additional 163,031 shares during the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 4th quarter valued at $897,000. Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in Moderna by 22.1% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 215,894 shares of the company's stock worth $5,577,000 after buying an additional 39,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new position in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth $907,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MRNA. Bank of America upped their price objective on Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price objective on Moderna in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $36.60.

Moderna Price Performance

MRNA opened at $60.42 on Thursday. Moderna, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.28 and a 52-week high of $67.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.41 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.02) by ($0.38). Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. The business had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $236.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.52) EPS. The business's revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moderna news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $264,951.66. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at $562,637.58. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 3,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $183,800.16. This trade represents a 70.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 125,088 shares of company stock valued at $6,193,713. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moderna Company 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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