Moderna, Inc. $MRNA Shares Acquired by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its Moderna stake by 149.3% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 11,918 shares valued at approximately $835,000. Institutional investors collectively own 75.33% of Moderna.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with seven Buy, twelve Hold and five Sell ratings. Moderna has a consensus price target of $76.72, while shares opened at $154.03 and have traded between $22.28 and $176.66 over the past year.
• Moderna reported a second-quarter loss of $1.97 per share, slightly better than expectations, and revenue of $145 million versus the $102.93 million consensus estimate. Insiders sold approximately $16.9 million of stock over the past three months under pre-arranged trading plans.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 149.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,918 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,137 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Moderna were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,142,877,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $378,299,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $564,272,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,707,000. Finally, Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth $161,642,545. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MRNA shares. UBS Group set a $81.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Brookline Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.72.

Moderna Price Performance

MRNA opened at $154.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company's 50-day moving average price is $99.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.17. Moderna, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $176.66. The firm has a market cap of $61.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.13) EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors continued to respond favorably to positive late-stage results for intismeran autogene, Moderna’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine being developed with Merck’s Keytruda. The program is strengthening the view that oncology could become a major long-term growth engine and reduce the company’s dependence on COVID-19 products. Moderna cancer vaccine rally article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets helped extend Moderna’s rally, with market coverage emphasizing the potential commercial value of its cancer-vaccine partnership. The stock’s recent recovery reflects a shift toward valuing Moderna on its broader pipeline rather than only on declining COVID-19 vaccine sales. Why Moderna shares are soaring
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna’s shares have experienced highly volatile trading and a sharp one-month increase, with Thursday’s move reportedly occurring without a new company disclosure. The momentum may support investor interest, but the size of the rally also increases the risk of profit-taking and pullbacks. Moderna cancer vaccine trading momentum
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares for approximately $5.8 million, following another sale of a similar size. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, making them a limited bearish signal, but insider selling can still weigh on sentiment after a major run-up. Moderna insider selling report

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total transaction of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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. Also, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $4,685,093.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 118,882 shares of company stock worth $16,862,280. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Moderna Profile

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines and vaccines. Its platform is designed to provide cells with instructions to produce proteins that may help prevent or treat infectious diseases, cancer and other medical conditions.

The company's commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults. Moderna also maintains a pipeline of investigational programs in areas such as seasonal influenza, cytomegalovirus, oncology and rare diseases.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Moderna serves markets in the United States and internationally through regulatory approvals, commercial partnerships and distribution arrangements.

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