Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Invests $2.76 Million in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 39,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,763,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter worth $415,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Moderna by 732.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 10,185 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Moderna in the first quarter worth about $230,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 58.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,547 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 8,706 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,348,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MRNA shares. 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 research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Brookline Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. William Blair upgraded shares of Moderna from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Moderna from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.31.

Moderna Trading Down 5.8%

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $149.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.73 and a beta of 0.91. Moderna, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.28 and a 12-month high of $176.66. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $74.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.46.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The company's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.13) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck’s individualized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, reportedly reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence by 49% in a late-stage study when used with Keytruda. The results reinforce Moderna’s strategy of expanding beyond COVID-19 vaccines and could support a large oncology opportunity. Skin cancer vaccine report
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded Moderna following the Phase 3 oncology data and estimated a potential cancer-vaccine market opportunity of approximately $9.2 billion. That outlook helped fuel the recent rally and improves confidence that Moderna may develop meaningful non-COVID revenue. Wolfe cancer-vaccine opportunity report
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA’s approval of the first mRNA-based flu vaccine highlights growing recognition of mRNA technology and may increase the strategic and patent value of platforms used by companies such as Moderna. FDA mRNA flu vaccine report
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are increasingly viewing Moderna as an oncology and platform-technology company rather than solely a COVID-19 vaccine maker. However, recent trading alerts and analyst-driven momentum appear to have amplified volatility, making the shares vulnerable to profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upgrade, the stock is giving back part of its rally because Moderna’s roughly $59 billion valuation remains difficult to justify against a loss-making business and weak near-term revenue. The company reported a quarterly loss and continues to face uncertainty over the timing and probability of commercializing its pipeline. Moderna valuation and pullback report
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage also cautions that the cancer-vaccine evidence remains limited and that manufacturing personalization, treatment costs, regulatory review and broad adoption could restrict the therapy’s eventual use. Cancer-vaccine barriers explainer
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna’s CEO warned that China’s state-backed investment in mRNA technology is intensifying global competition, potentially increasing pressure on intellectual property, pricing and long-term market share. China mRNA competition report

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moderna Company Profile

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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