Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $13.59 Million in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd initiated a new position in Moderna during the fourth quarter, buying 460,853 shares valued at about $13.59 million. The stake represented roughly 0.12% of Moderna at quarter-end.
• Moderna’s latest quarterly results showed a loss of $3.40 per share, wider than expected, though revenue of $389 million came in well above analyst estimates and jumped 260.2% year over year.
• Insider selling has continued at Moderna, with director Noubar Afeyan and president Stephen Hoge both reducing their holdings recently. Analysts currently rate the stock cautiously, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $36.60.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 460,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,591,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned 0.12% of Moderna at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Moderna by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in Moderna by 3,775.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $49.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Moderna, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $59.55. The company has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a PE ratio of -6.12 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.03.

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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.52) EPS. The business's revenue was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other Moderna news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,924 shares in the company, valued at $183,800.16. This represents a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total transaction of $2,581,462.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,752 shares of company stock worth $3,453,843. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRNA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 target price on Moderna and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, February 16th. Barclays increased their target price on Moderna from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Moderna from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $36.60.

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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