Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) President Stephen Hoge Sells 39,145 Shares of Company Stock

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) President Stephen Hoge sold 39,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total transaction of $8,640,084.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,636,565 shares in the company, valued at $361,222,626.80. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 Wednesday, October 14th, Stephen Hoge sold 39,224 shares of Moderna stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.48, for a total value of $8,373,539.52.
• On Monday, September 14th, Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of Moderna stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total value of $5,807,574.22.
• On Tuesday, September 15th, Stephen Hoge sold 40,281 shares of Moderna stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.07, for a total value of $5,883,845.67.

Moderna Trading Down 7.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRNA traded down $18.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $218.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,365,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,294,008. Moderna, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $242.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.29 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Moderna News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming melanoma and other cancer-vaccine data remain the main bullish catalyst. Earlier positive results from Moderna’s personalized cancer-vaccine collaboration with Merck have increased expectations that new data could support the pipeline and help sustain the stock’s gains. Merck and Moderna cancer vaccine strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest has also been supported by strong momentum, healthcare-sector fund flows and optimism that Moderna’s pipeline could diversify the business beyond COVID-19 vaccines. Moderna rallies as money rotates into healthcare
• Neutral Sentiment: President Stephen Hoge sold a combined 78,369 shares in transactions conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although the sales may weigh on sentiment, they represented only a small portion of his remaining holdings and were not discretionary trades made during the current move. Moderna insider trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: A study comparing the stability of three mRNA vaccines in human blood may provide useful scientific context for the platform, but it does not appear to offer an immediate change to Moderna’s revenue outlook or valuation. mRNA vaccine stability study
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking has intensified after Moderna became one of the market’s strongest performers, with analysts cautioning that the stock’s valuation now depends heavily on successful pipeline execution. Goldman Sachs raised its target to $137 but retained a Neutral rating, leaving the target substantially below recent trading levels. Moderna valuation debate
• Negative Sentiment: The broader selloff in vaccine stocks, including declines in Novavax and BioNTech, has added sector-wide pressure. Investors are also wary of Moderna’s continuing losses and negative cash flow while awaiting the cancer-data catalyst. Vaccine-stock selloff

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Moderna by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Moderna by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Moderna by 2.0% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Moderna by 8.8% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Moderna by 35.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Moderna from $45.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on shares of Moderna from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.45.

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.