M&T Bank Corp Acquires 240,400 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• M&T Bank boosted its stake in Moderna by 1,313.8% in Q4, buying 240,400 shares to hold 258,698 shares worth $7.63 million (about 0.07% of the company), while institutional investors own roughly 75.3% of the stock.
• Moderna's outlook is mixed: regulatory and pipeline wins — including European approval of its COVID‑19/flu combo (mCombriax) and a Phase 3 bird‑flu trial — contrast with near‑term risks like a CureVac patent lawsuit and analyst warnings of negative EPS and a consensus "Reduce" rating (average target $33.87).
• Insider activity and recent results add context: President Stephen Hoge sold 160,009 shares (~$7.8M), insiders own 10.8%, and the company recently beat EPS estimates but still reported negative EPS and revenue down 33% year‑over‑year.

M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 1,313.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 258,698 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 240,400 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Moderna worth $7,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Moderna by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 86,358 shares of the company's stock worth $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 6,459 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Moderna by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 139,654 shares of the company's stock worth $4,118,000 after purchasing an additional 22,485 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Moderna by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 21,969 shares of the company's stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 6,812 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Moderna by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,183 shares of the company's stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 12,144 shares during the period. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in Moderna in the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: European approval for Moderna’s COVID-19/flu combo vaccine (mCombriax) expands near‑term commercial opportunity and validates Phase 3 data showing superior immune responses versus standalone vaccines. European Commission Approves MRNA's COVID-19-Influenza Combo Shot
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna launched a late‑stage (Phase 3) trial for an mRNA bird flu vaccine, advancing its respiratory vaccine pipeline and potential future revenue streams despite earlier U.S. funding setbacks. Pipeline progress supports longer‑term growth expectations. Moderna starts late-stage trial for bird flu vaccine
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna is projected to report quarterly results next week; the timing and details will be market‑moving but are already partially priced in ahead of the release. Watch revenue guidance and commentary on vaccine demand. Moderna (MRNA) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Friday
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna presented data at ESCMID Global 2026 — useful for scientific validation and investor confidence but unlikely to move the stock materially on its own. Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) Presents at ESCMID Global 2026 - Slideshow
• Negative Sentiment: CureVac filed a patent‑infringement suit in Delaware alleging Moderna’s Spikevax infringes mRNA patents — legal risk could lead to damages, licensing costs or injunction threats, creating near‑term uncertainty. CureVac sues Moderna for patent infringement over COVID-19 vaccines
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and previews (Zacks/Yahoo) flag that Moderna may report negative EPS next week and lacks the two key ingredients often behind earnings beats, increasing the risk of an earnings disappointment. Moderna (MRNA) May Report Negative Earnings: Know the Trend Ahead of Next Week's Release

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 160,009 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.84, for a total transaction of $7,814,839.56. Following the sale, the president owned 1,457,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,180,734.68. This represents a 9.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRNA shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Moderna from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price objective on Moderna and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $33.87.

Moderna Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of MRNA opened at $50.73 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $51.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.75. Moderna, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $59.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.98 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 3.22.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported ($2.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.79) by $0.68. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 30.15% and a negative net margin of 145.16%.The company had revenue of $678.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.91) EPS. Moderna's quarterly revenue was down 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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