C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. Makes New Investment in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in Moderna in the first quarter valued at $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Moderna by 148.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Moderna by 35.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying 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 subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on Moderna in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.50.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are assigning substantial commercial potential to the cancer program. Jefferies reportedly estimates as much as $54 billion in peak global sales and raised its price target to $170, while coverage highlighted the possibility that the trial could establish an oncology opportunity comparable to Merck’s Keytruda franchise. Jefferies sees $54 billion peak sales for Moderna cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: The favorable Phase 3 outcome has triggered analyst upgrades, including William Blair moving Moderna to Outperform and Bank of America raising its rating to Neutral. The stock also reached a new 12-month high amid renewed enthusiasm for mRNA-based cancer treatments. Moderna raised to Outperform at William Blair
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading has been exceptionally volatile for a third consecutive session. Analysts attribute the sharp swings partly to heavy short interest and a subsequent short squeeze, while options activity suggests elevated volatility may persist even without new clinical information. Moderna rallies as mRNA trading whipsaws
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns remain significant after the recent surge. JPMorgan raised its price target to $77 but retained an Underweight rating, implying substantial downside from current levels. Commentary also cautioned that the clinical success does not eliminate development, regulatory, manufacturing, commercialization, and pipeline risks for Moderna or other mRNA companies. JPMorgan raises Moderna price target but keeps Underweight rating

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $145.07 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.10. Moderna, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $176.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. Moderna’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.13) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.