SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 27,930 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC cut its Moderna stake by 10% in the first quarter, selling 27,930 shares and ending with 250,868 shares valued at about $12.7 million.
• Several Moderna insiders sold shares recently, including director Abbas Hussain and insider Shannon Thyme Klinger, with insider sales totaling 125,088 shares over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain cautious overall despite some higher targets: Moderna has a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average price target of $37.13, though Piper Sandler recently raised its target to $77 and kept an overweight rating.

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,868 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,930 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.06% of Moderna worth $12,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aspen Investment Management Inc purchased a new position in Moderna during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Moderna by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 34,805 shares of the company's stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 6,751 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,153 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,425,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $264,951.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 125,088 shares of company stock worth $6,193,713. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $37.13.

Moderna News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna’s Science Day showcased an expanded pipeline that includes oncology, autoimmune disease, and next-generation mRNA programs, including a new in vivo CAR-T approach and T-cell engager candidates. Investors appear to be re-rating the stock on the prospect of multiple future commercial franchises beyond vaccines. Article
• Positive Sentiment: FDA advisory support for Moderna’s mRNA flu shot, mFlusiva, strengthened the case that its platform can win approvals outside COVID-19, potentially opening a second major commercial opportunity in respiratory vaccines for older adults. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted Moderna’s new cell therapy program and broader Science Day disclosures as the main reasons the stock is leading the market higher, with investors responding to signs that the company is building a more diversified biotech story. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage from Yahoo Finance and Seeking Alpha mainly recapped Moderna’s Science Day presentation and expanding mRNA platform, reinforcing the same positive narrative rather than adding a new standalone catalyst. Article Article
• Neutral Sentiment: One note on short interest reported unusual data showing zero shares, so it does not appear to be a meaningful driver of the move.

Moderna Price Performance

Moderna stock opened at $67.27 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.28 and a 12-month high of $69.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of -8.25 and a beta of 1.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. The firm had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.52) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 EPS for the current year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRNA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.