Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 883,075 Moderna shares worth approximately $61.8 million, representing about 0.22% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.33% of Moderna.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with seven Buy, thirteen Hold and three Sell ratings, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $80.53; Argus was notably more bullish, assigning a $180 target.
• Moderna’s latest quarterly results modestly exceeded expectations, reporting a loss of $1.97 per share versus the estimated $2.03 loss and revenue of $145 million versus $102.93 million expected. The stock opened at $137.99 and has traded between $22.28 and $176.66 over the past year.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 883,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,842,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.22% of Moderna at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,142,877,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth about $378,299,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new position in Moderna in the second quarter worth about $564,272,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Moderna in the fourth quarter worth about $95,209,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,707,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Moderna in a report on Friday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Wolfe Research raised Moderna from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus upgraded Moderna from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $80.53.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $137.99 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $77.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.73. Moderna, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.28 and a 52 week high of $176.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.27 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.13) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported that their personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine, intismeran, combined with Keytruda, met the goals of a Phase 3 study involving 1,137 patients. The treatment reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence and distant spread versus Keytruda alone, strengthening the case for Moderna’s oncology pipeline and the commercial potential of the partnership. Reuters cancer vaccine breakthrough article
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA approved Moderna’s updated 2026–2027 Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 vaccines, targeting the XFG subvariant. The approval preserves access to the seasonal COVID-19 vaccine market, though future demand remains an important uncertainty. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded Moderna from “Hold” to “Buy” and assigned a $180 price target, indicating additional potential upside based on the company’s oncology opportunity and recent clinical progress. Argus upgrade article
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer advised a viewer to hold Moderna after the stock’s sharp rally, reflecting continued optimism about the Phase 3 cancer-vaccine result but also caution following the run-up. Jim Cramer Moderna commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna priced an upsized $2.6 billion offering of zero-coupon convertible senior notes due 2032, increased from the initially proposed $2.0 billion. Proceeds may fund oncology investments and debt repayment, but the larger financing raised concerns about future share dilution and explains much of the selling pressure. Moderna convertible notes offering
• Negative Sentiment: BioNTech’s decision to halt a mid-stage personalized mRNA colorectal-cancer vaccine trial after a review weakened sentiment across the mRNA oncology sector, raising broader questions about the difficulty of translating promising technology into successful cancer treatments. BioNTech colorectal cancer trial article

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 10.80% of the stock is owned by 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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