Moderna, Inc. $MRNA Stock Holdings Boosted by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson increased its Moderna stake by 29.2% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 70,141 shares valued at approximately $13.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.33% of the company.
• Moderna shares opened at $222.76, near their 52-week high of $254.48, amid optimism over positive personalized cancer-vaccine data. However, analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $107.10.
• The company continues to report losses, posting quarterly revenue of $145 million and an EPS loss of $1.97; analysts forecast a full-year loss of $6.11 per share. Insiders have sold about 197,251 shares worth $33.9 million over the past 90 days.

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 29.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,141 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,851 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Moderna were worth $13,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $564,272,000. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $161,642,545. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $139,317,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth $119,168,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine candidate recently produced positive clinical-trial data, renewing investor optimism about a potentially significant oncology business. The upcoming Nov. 6 event or update could provide another near-term catalyst. Will Moderna Soar on Nov. 6?
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Stéphane Bancel defended the melanoma-vaccine results, saying the data should improve over time and that Moderna’s technology may be difficult for competitors to replicate. He also expressed confidence that the platform could work in cancers beyond melanoma. Moderna CEO Cancer Vaccine Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna’s ESMO presentation highlighted the science behind its oncology pipeline, but investors now want evidence that the program can translate into commercial revenue and improve the company’s financial outlook. Moderna ESMO Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Heavy investor searches for Moderna indicate elevated market interest, but the coverage does not identify a new fundamental development by itself. Investors Heavily Search Moderna
• Negative Sentiment: William Blair lowered Moderna to Market Perform from Outperform, citing valuation concerns after the stock’s strong oncology-driven advance. The downgrade suggests much of the cancer-vaccine optimism may already be reflected in the shares. William Blair Downgrades Moderna
• Negative Sentiment: An analyst lowered the FY2028 EPS estimate, reinforcing concerns about Moderna’s path to profitability and the premium valuation investors are assigning to its future pipeline. Comparisons with GSK emphasize that Moderna offers greater oncology upside but less income and currently higher execution risk. GSK vs. Moderna Growth Comparison

Moderna Stock Up 4.0%

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $222.76 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $180.72 and a 200-day moving average of $85.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.88 and a beta of 1.09. Moderna, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.28 and a 52 week high of $254.48. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.13) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total transaction of $5,807,574.22. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,525,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,921,913.54. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business'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 transaction of $485,766.45. Following the sale, the insider directly 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. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRNA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. CLSA raised Moderna to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Moderna from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Bradesco Corretora upgraded shares of Moderna to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.10.

Moderna 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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