Verition Fund Management LLC Has $13.35 Million Holdings in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• Verition Fund Management more than doubled its Moderna stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 103.5% to 452,529 shares valued at about $13.35 million.
• Moderna’s latest quarterly results showed a wider-than-expected loss of $3.40 per share, though revenue of $389 million beat estimates and rose 260.2% year over year.
• Insiders and analysts remain cautious: executives recently sold shares, and the stock carries a consensus "Reduce" rating with a $36.60 average price target.

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) by 103.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 452,529 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 230,192 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Moderna worth $13,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter valued at about $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 acquired a new position in Moderna during the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Moderna by 58.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 8,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Moderna by 5.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,859 shares of the company's stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of MRNA stock opened at $52.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.67 and a 200-day moving average of $44.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Moderna, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.28 and a 12-month high of $59.55. The company has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.40 and a beta of 1.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Moderna had a negative return on equity of 26.64% and a negative net margin of 143.55%.The company had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.52) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $433,878.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $183,800.16. This represents a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total transaction of $2,581,462.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,477,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,535,054.80. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 71,752 shares of company stock worth $3,453,843 over the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRNA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore set a $35.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $36.60.

Moderna 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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