Moderna, Inc. $MRNA Shares Sold by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Key Points

• Banque Pictet & Cie SA cut its Moderna stake by 20.3% in the third quarter, selling 548,143 shares and retaining 2.15 million shares valued at approximately $414.3 million. Institutional investors overall own 75.33% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with seven Buy, 15 Hold, and four Sell ratings, producing a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $101.45.
• Moderna’s potential cancer-vaccine data is the main bullish catalyst, but investors remain concerned about valuation, ongoing losses, negative cash flow, insider selling, and broader weakness across vaccine stocks.

Banque Pictet & Cie SA reduced its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,151,259 shares of the company's stock after selling 548,143 shares during the quarter. Moderna makes up approximately 2.9% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned approximately 0.54% of Moderna worth $414,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRNA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $564,272,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Moderna by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company's stock worth $172,384,000 after buying an additional 103,977 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Moderna by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,392,693 shares of the company's stock worth $121,549,000 after buying an additional 891,072 shares during the period. Finally, Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $161,642,545. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRNA. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Brookline Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Key Stories Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming melanoma and other cancer-vaccine data remain the main bullish catalyst. Earlier positive results from Moderna’s personalized cancer-vaccine collaboration with Merck have increased expectations that new data could support the pipeline and help sustain the stock’s gains. Merck and Moderna cancer vaccine strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest has also been supported by strong momentum, healthcare-sector fund flows and optimism that Moderna’s pipeline could diversify the business beyond COVID-19 vaccines. Moderna rallies as money rotates into healthcare
• Neutral Sentiment: President Stephen Hoge sold a combined 78,369 shares in transactions conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although the sales may weigh on sentiment, they represented only a small portion of his remaining holdings and were not discretionary trades made during the current move. Moderna insider trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: A study comparing the stability of three mRNA vaccines in human blood may provide useful scientific context for the platform, but it does not appear to offer an immediate change to Moderna’s revenue outlook or valuation. mRNA vaccine stability study
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking has intensified after Moderna became one of the market’s strongest performers, with analysts cautioning that the stock’s valuation now depends heavily on successful pipeline execution. Goldman Sachs raised its target to $137 but retained a Neutral rating, leaving the target substantially below recent trading levels. Moderna valuation debate
• Negative Sentiment: The broader selloff in vaccine stocks, including declines in Novavax and BioNTech, has added sector-wide pressure. Investors are also wary of Moderna’s continuing losses and negative cash flow while awaiting the cancer-data catalyst. Vaccine-stock selloff

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 74,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 Jamey Mock sold 34,836 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $4,685,093.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. This represents a 36.98% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of Moderna stock opened at $218.01 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $156.66 and its 200 day moving average is $90.88. Moderna, Inc. has a one year low of $22.28 and a one year high of $242.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29.

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

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can help prevent or treat disease, supporting the company's work across infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

Moderna's commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.

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