Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 399,487 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its Moderna stake by 399,487 shares to 41,584,782 shares (10.64% ownership), valued at about $1.23 billion at the end of the quarter.
• Q1 results showed revenue of $389 million (+260% YoY) from strong international COVID‑19 vaccine sales, but a $0.9 billion one‑time litigation settlement pushed GAAP EPS to $(3.40) and produced negative margins.
• Despite pipeline catalysts like the mRNA‑1010 PDUFA (Aug. 5) and advancing oncology programs, analysts' consensus is "Reduce" with an average price target of $34.60, and the stock has traded volatile around ~$45 (market cap ≈ $17.9B).

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,584,782 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 399,487 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.64% of Moderna worth $1,226,335,000 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. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 1,313.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 258,698 shares of the company's stock worth $7,629,000 after acquiring an additional 240,400 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 86,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 6,459 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 139,654 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,118,000 after purchasing an additional 22,485 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 21,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 6,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Moderna by 18.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 revenue sharply exceeded estimates — $389M (+~260% YoY) driven by strong international COVID‑19 vaccine sales, showing demand outside the U.S. and a meaningful top‑line rebound. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline and upcoming regulatory catalysts remain market drivers — the mRNA‑1010 seasonal flu PDUFA (Aug. 5) and advancing oncology programs give upside optionality beyond COVID vaccines. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Company reiterated 2026 outlook (up to ~10% revenue growth) and signaled continued operating expense reductions excluding the non‑recurring settlement — suggests management expects sustainable margin improvements over time. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue concentration shifted heavily to ex‑U.S. markets (~80% of Q1 revenue), which helped the beat but increases sensitivity to international procurement cycles and government deals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A $0.9B one‑time litigation settlement was recorded in Q1, producing a wider GAAP loss (GAAP EPS of $(3.40)) and negative gross/net margins — this sizable charge weighed on the earnings print despite the revenue beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Stock reaction was volatile — shares initially rallied on the revenue beat but later moved lower as investors digested the settlement, continued unprofitability, and reliance on a few government contracts. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other Moderna 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,180,734.68. This trade represents a 9.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRNA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moderna from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Moderna from a "market perform" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Moderna from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $34.60.

Moderna Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MRNA opened at $45.37 on Friday. Moderna, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $59.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.29. The company has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.24 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50 day moving average price is $51.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.02) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $236.37 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 145.16% and a negative return on equity of 30.15%. Moderna's quarterly revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($2.52) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -8 earnings per share for the current 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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