Commerce Bank Acquires New Shares in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Commerce Bank bought a new stake in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 55,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,869,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRNA. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the first quarter valued at $899,000. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $161,642,545,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $119,168,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Moderna by 1,387.6% during the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 22,590 shares during the period. Finally, Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in 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 period. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Stock Down 4.3%

MRNA opened at $138.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.87. The company has a market capitalization of $55.45 billion, a PE ratio of -17.38 and a beta of 0.91. Moderna, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.28 and a 1-year high of $176.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during 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 revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.13) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other Moderna 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 transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 stock was 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 owned 1,483,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRNA shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moderna from $39.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.31.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, delivered a positive Phase 3 result in melanoma when used with Keytruda. The result marks an important validation of Moderna’s mRNA platform and could support a substantial long-term oncology opportunity. Should You Buy Moderna Stock Following Its Cancer Breakthrough?
• Positive Sentiment: The cancer-vaccine success has strengthened investor confidence in Moderna’s pipeline and helped drive a major re-rating of MRNA. Management believes intismeran autogene could have significant long-term potential, while Moderna’s recently approved mRNA flu vaccine provides another commercial opportunity. Moderna Is Betting Big on Its Cancer Vaccine
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are now focused on the next steps: regulatory submissions, durability of the clinical benefit, manufacturing capacity, pricing, and adoption. The Phase 3 result is significant, but commercialization and revenue generation remain several steps away. Why Moderna’s and Merck’s Cancer Vaccine Is a Breakthrough for mRNA
• Negative Sentiment: After an approximately 392% year-to-date surge, traders locked in gains across biotech and pharmaceutical stocks. With no fresh clinical or regulatory announcement to extend the advance, Moderna and related names cooled. Myriad Genetics and Moderna Shares Plummet, What You Need To Know
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that personalized cancer vaccines may be difficult to manufacture at scale, less broadly applicable, and less lucrative than current enthusiasm suggests. Moderna also faces pipeline execution risks, competition, and intensifying Chinese investment in mRNA biotechnology. Moderna’s mRNA Cancer Vaccine Marks a Major Leap in Personalized Oncology

Moderna Company 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.