Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock: Insider Stephen Hoge Sells 39,224 Shares

Key Points

• Moderna President Stephen Hoge sold 39,224 shares at an average price of $213.48, generating approximately $8.37 million. The sale was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan and reduced his direct holdings by 2.39%.
• Moderna shares recently traded at $218.01, down 7.8%, despite strong gains over the past year. The stock’s consensus analyst rating is Hold, with an average price target of $101.45.
• Investor focus remains on upcoming personalized cancer-vaccine data, particularly melanoma results, while analysts caution that Moderna continues to post losses and faces valuation risks tied to successful pipeline execution.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) President Stephen Hoge sold 39,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.48, for a total transaction of $8,373,539.52. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,599,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $341,409,597.84. This trade represents a 2.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Stephen Hoge also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, October 15th, Stephen Hoge sold 39,145 shares of Moderna stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total transaction of $8,640,084.40.
• On Monday, September 14th, Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of Moderna stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total transaction of $5,807,574.22.
• On Tuesday, September 15th, Stephen Hoge sold 40,281 shares of Moderna stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.07, for a total transaction of $5,883,845.67.

Moderna Stock Down 7.8%

NASDAQ MRNA traded down $18.49 on Friday, hitting $218.01. 21,331,755 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,344,437. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $87.04 billion, a PE ratio of -27.29 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $153.48 and a 200-day moving average of $89.98. Moderna, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $242.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.13) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm remains centered on Moderna’s upcoming personalized cancer-vaccine data, particularly melanoma results expected next week. The catalyst helped drive the recent rally and keeps the company’s oncology pipeline in focus. Moderna falls ahead of cancer vaccine data next week
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck’s earlier cancer-vaccine progress continues to support optimism about the companies’ oncology strategy, although additional development work is still required. Merck and Moderna cancer vaccine strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $137 from $120 while retaining a Neutral rating. The increase acknowledges Moderna’s momentum, but the target remains well below the stock’s recent trading level. Goldman raises Moderna price target
• Negative Sentiment: After gaining sharply on cancer-vaccine expectations, Moderna is experiencing profit-taking as investors reassess whether the rally has moved ahead of near-term fundamentals. Analysts have highlighted the company’s continuing losses, negative free cash flow, and valuation sensitivity to successful pipeline execution. Moderna stock sinks as Wall Street turns cautious
• Negative Sentiment: The selloff is also affecting vaccine developers broadly, with Novavax under heavier pressure and other vaccine stocks weakening. This sector-wide risk reduction is adding to selling pressure on MRNA. Selloff hits vaccine makers

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRNA. Singular Research upgraded Moderna to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wolfe Research raised Moderna from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Moderna from $77.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Bradesco Corretora raised Moderna to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the third quarter valued at approximately $169,000. NFSG Corp raised its position in Moderna by 2,581.0% in the 3rd quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 5,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 5,162 shares during the last quarter. R2 Capital Strategies LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the 3rd quarter valued at $347,000. Cohen Klingenstein LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the 3rd quarter valued at $404,000. Finally, PFG Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the 3rd quarter valued at $473,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company's stock.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can help prevent or treat disease, supporting the company's work across infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

Moderna's commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.

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