Shannon Thyme Klinger Sells 3,471 Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total transaction of $485,766.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,374,353.55. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Moderna Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $145.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.11 billion, a PE ratio of -18.22 and a beta of 1.10. Moderna, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.28 and a 52 week high of $176.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $85.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.45.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.Moderna’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.13) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported that the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial of intismeran autogene plus Keytruda met its primary recurrence-free-survival endpoint in resected stage IIB–IV melanoma. It was the first positive Phase 3 result for an mRNA-based cancer therapy and strengthens Moderna’s long-term oncology outlook, although detailed data have not yet been released. Moderna melanoma trial article
• Positive Sentiment: Technical analysts describe the recent consolidation as a potential bullish pennant following the cancer-vaccine-driven breakout. Elevated short interest could provide additional buying pressure if the shares break above resistance. Moderna technical forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Legal Officer Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares for approximately $486,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. Because the transaction was planned and tax-related, it provides limited insight into management’s view of Moderna’s valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. Redburn downgraded Moderna from Neutral to Sell, saying the cancer-vaccine rally has made the stock overvalued. The firm raised its price target to $81 from $40, but the new target remains well below recent trading levels, intensifying profit-taking concerns. Rothschild Moderna downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: GSK is advancing an mRNA influenza vaccine toward Phase 3 after reporting stronger immune responses in Phase 2. The competing program could challenge Moderna’s newly approved mFlusiva and increase pressure on its commercial vaccine pipeline. GSK mRNA flu vaccine competition

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MRNA. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Bank of America raised shares of Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Moderna in a report on Friday, August 28th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.72.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Moderna during the first quarter worth $899,000. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth $161,642,545. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $119,168,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 1,387.6% during the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 22,590 shares during the period. Finally, Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 498,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,706,000 after acquiring an additional 125,598 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.