WINTON GROUP Ltd Invests $800,000 in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd opened a new position in Moderna during the fourth quarter, buying 27,144 shares valued at about $800,000.
• Institutional interest in Moderna remains high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 75.33% of the company. Several large firms, including Norges Bank and Invesco, also increased or initiated positions.
• Moderna reported a larger-than-expected loss in its latest quarter, though revenue came in above estimates and rose 260.2% from a year earlier. The stock was trading around $45.99, while analysts currently rate it a consensus "Reduce" with a $36.60 price target.

WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 27,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRNA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moderna in the fourth quarter worth $79,707,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Moderna by 15.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company's stock worth $212,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,131 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moderna in the second quarter worth $23,192,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Moderna by 84.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,779,309 shares of the company's stock worth $49,091,000 after purchasing an additional 813,974 shares during the period. Finally, Theleme Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Moderna by 8.6% in the second quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 7,868,810 shares of the company's stock worth $217,100,000 after purchasing an additional 626,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Stock Performance

MRNA stock opened at $45.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.64 and a beta of 1.05. Moderna, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $59.55. The stock's fifty day moving average is $49.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.80.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.52) earnings per share. Moderna's revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total value of $264,951.66. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $562,637.58. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $433,878.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,924 shares in the company, valued at $183,800.16. This represents a 70.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,752 shares of company stock worth $3,453,843. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Moderna and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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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