Moderna, Inc. $MRNA Holdings Lowered by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management slightly reduced its Moderna stake by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, but still held 9.22 million shares worth about $271.4 million. Hedge funds and other institutional investors continue to own a large majority of the stock.
• Moderna’s recent pipeline updates were positive, including an expanded CEPI collaboration to advance a potential Ebola vaccine and 5-year melanoma data with Merck showing reduced recurrence or death risk for patients. These developments support the company’s long-term mRNA and oncology story.
• Near-term fundamentals remain mixed: Moderna reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss despite strong revenue growth, and analysts currently have an average “Reduce” rating with a consensus price target of $35.73. Insider selling has also continued in recent months.

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,219,644 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,708 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.36% of Moderna worth $271,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in Moderna by 14.4% during the fourth 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 period. Banco Santander S.A. raised 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 valued at $5,577,000 after buying an additional 39,056 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new position in Moderna during the fourth quarter valued at $907,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Moderna by 1,445.1% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 140,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,142,000 after buying an additional 131,364 shares during the period. Finally, Telemark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Moderna during the third quarter valued at $12,915,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna announced an expanded collaboration with CEPI to develop a potential vaccine against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, with CEPI committing up to $50 million to fund preclinical work and Phase 1 testing. The external funding reduces development risk and highlights continued interest in Moderna's mRNA platform. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck presented 5-year data showing intismeran autogene plus KEYTRUDA cut the risk of recurrence or death in high-risk melanoma patients, reinforcing the company’s oncology pipeline and keeping investor attention on a possible future commercial opportunity. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage echoed the CEPI Ebola partnership and the melanoma data, but did not add materially new information beyond the original announcements. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discussed broader interest in mRNA-based personalized cancer vaccines and the relevance of Moderna’s technology, which may be supportive long term but is not an immediate financial catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may still be cautious because these are early-stage vaccine and cancer programs, so the news improves sentiment but does not yet change Moderna’s earnings outlook in the near term.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $46.06 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.66. Moderna, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.28 and a twelve month high of $59.55. The company has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.65 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 announced its 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($2.52) EPS. Moderna's revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In related news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $562,637.58. This represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was 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 $183,800.16. This represents a 70.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 68,281 shares of company stock worth $3,280,293 in the last 90 days. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRNA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price target on Moderna and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $35.73.

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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