Wealthfront Advisers LLC Purchases New Shares in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,094,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moderna by 35.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moderna Price Performance

Moderna stock opened at $145.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. Moderna, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.28 and a 52 week high of $176.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.16 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.49 and a 200-day moving average of $56.10.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during 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%.Moderna's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.13) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are assigning substantial commercial potential to the cancer program. Jefferies reportedly estimates as much as $54 billion in peak global sales and raised its price target to $170, while coverage highlighted the possibility that the trial could establish an oncology opportunity comparable to Merck’s Keytruda franchise. Jefferies sees $54 billion peak sales for Moderna cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: The favorable Phase 3 outcome has triggered analyst upgrades, including William Blair moving Moderna to Outperform and Bank of America raising its rating to Neutral. The stock also reached a new 12-month high amid renewed enthusiasm for mRNA-based cancer treatments. Moderna raised to Outperform at William Blair
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading has been exceptionally volatile for a third consecutive session. Analysts attribute the sharp swings partly to heavy short interest and a subsequent short squeeze, while options activity suggests elevated volatility may persist even without new clinical information. Moderna rallies as mRNA trading whipsaws
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns remain significant after the recent surge. JPMorgan raised its price target to $77 but retained an Underweight rating, implying substantial downside from current levels. Commentary also cautioned that the clinical success does not eliminate development, regulatory, manufacturing, commercialization, and pipeline risks for Moderna or other mRNA companies. JPMorgan raises Moderna price target but keeps Underweight rating

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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