Moderna, Inc. $MRNA Shares Sold by IFP Advisors Inc

Key Points

• IFP Advisors cut its Moderna stake by 68.4% in the third quarter, selling 5,011 shares and retaining 2,314 shares valued at approximately $446,000.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of Moderna, while insiders sold 197,251 shares worth $33.9 million over the past 90 days.
• Moderna’s positive Phase 3 cancer-vaccine results reduced melanoma recurrence or death risk by 42%, strengthening its oncology pipeline, though the stock remains volatile and analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating.

IFP Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 68.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,314 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,011 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Moderna were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth about $564,272,000. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $161,642,545. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $139,317,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $119,168,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 74,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,374,353.55. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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, President Stephen Hoge sold 39,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total value of $8,640,084.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 1,636,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,222,626.80. This trade represents a 2.34% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported positive Phase 3 INTerpath-001 results for the personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, used with Keytruda. The treatment reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42%, while also improving distant metastasis-free survival. Oncologists described the findings as a major advance in melanoma care. Nature article
• Positive Sentiment: The results strengthen the case for Moderna’s oncology pipeline and could support a major future revenue stream beyond COVID-19 vaccines, particularly if additional trials demonstrate benefits in other cancers. Moderna has also advanced its mRNA bird-flu vaccine into a late-stage trial, adding another potential pipeline catalyst. Bird flu vaccine trial article
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna’s recent addition to the Nasdaq-100 and analyst support provide structural and sentiment benefits, but these factors have less immediate influence than the cancer-vaccine readout. The stock had already posted an exceptionally strong rally, leaving the valuation highly sensitive to new clinical information. Nasdaq-100 inclusion article
• Negative Sentiment: Partial trial data appeared on social media ahead of Moderna and Merck’s planned ESMO presentation, triggering extreme volatility and a sharp selloff. The premature release disrupted the expected news event and encouraged a “sell-the-news” reaction. CNBC data leak article
• Negative Sentiment: Although clinically meaningful, the 42% reduction fell short of the market’s very high expectations after Moderna’s dramatic run-up. Investors also questioned whether the results will translate beyond melanoma, how quickly the product could reach the market, and its eventual commercial opportunity. The breach of near-term technical support and heightened trading swings add further pressure. Zacks analysis

Moderna Stock Performance

MRNA opened at $200.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $79.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.04 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.30. Moderna, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $254.48.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.13) earnings per share. Moderna's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRNA has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Moderna in a report on Friday, August 28th. They set a "hold" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Bradesco Corretora raised Moderna to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.95.

Moderna Company Profile

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 stimulate immune responses or support the treatment of disease. The company's research programs span infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions and other therapeutic areas.

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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