Moderna, Inc. $MRNA Position Reduced by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Moderna stake by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 64,289 shares and ending with 936,970 shares worth about $27.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their positions, while 75.33% of Moderna shares remain owned by institutions and 10.80% by company insiders.
• Moderna reported a smaller-than-expected revenue beat but a loss per share that missed estimates in its latest quarter; analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average price target of $35.73.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 936,970 shares of the company's stock after selling 64,289 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.24% of Moderna worth $27,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Moderna by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Moderna by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in Moderna by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 9,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Moderna by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 110,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Moderna by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 3,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $183,800.16. The trade was a 70.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total value of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 68,281 shares of company stock valued at $3,280,293 over the last 90 days. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moderna Price Performance

Moderna stock opened at $47.19 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.79 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.52. Moderna, Inc. has a one year low of $22.28 and a one year high of $59.55. 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 (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.52) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 target price on shares of Moderna and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $35.73.

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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