Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 107,077 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC reduced its Moderna stake by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 107,077 shares and leaving it with 638,370 shares valued at about $18.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding 75.33% of Moderna shares; several firms, including Vanguard and Capital World Investors, also made sizable positions or increased holdings.
• Analysts are cautious on Moderna: the stock carries a consensus rating of “Reduce” with a target price of $37.87, even as some firms have recently raised their price targets.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 638,370 shares of the company's stock after selling 107,077 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.16% of Moderna worth $18,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,584,782 shares of the company's stock worth $1,226,335,000 after purchasing an additional 399,487 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth about $378,299,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Moderna by 15.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company's stock worth $212,223,000 after buying an additional 1,115,131 shares during the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP raised its stake in Moderna by 2.5% in the third quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 8,068,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,417,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Moderna by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,621,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,290,000 after buying an additional 309,126 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRNA. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Moderna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $37.87.

Moderna Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $79.77 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $54.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.93. The stock has a market cap of $31.65 billion, a PE ratio of -9.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.41. Moderna, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $85.60.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.52) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were 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 owned 1,483,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 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 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 125,088 shares of company stock worth $6,193,713. 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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