Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. Invests $988,000 in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• Wittenberg Investment Management opened a new position in Moderna during the fourth quarter, buying 33,500 shares valued at about $988,000.
• Other institutional investors were also active in Moderna, with several hedge funds adding or increasing stakes; institutions now own 75.33% of the stock.
• Moderna reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss of $3.40 per share, though revenue of $389 million beat estimates and jumped 260.2% year over year. Analysts remain cautious overall, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $36.60.

Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 33,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fieldview Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the fourth quarter worth $1,733,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 78,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,316,000 after buying an additional 8,212 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 22,347 shares of the company's stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 11,037 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the fourth quarter worth $760,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 290.8% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 57,253 shares of the company's stock worth $1,688,000 after buying an additional 42,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moderna news, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $264,951.66. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at $562,637.58. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total value of $2,581,462.40. Following the transaction, the president owned 1,477,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,535,054.80. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 71,752 shares of company stock valued at $3,453,843 in the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moderna Price Performance

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $49.91 on Monday. Moderna, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $59.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.12 and a beta of 1.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $389.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($2.52) earnings per share. Moderna's quarterly revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MRNA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price objective on Moderna and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Moderna from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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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