Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $1.73 Million Position in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 24,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moderna by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Moderna by 35.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. William Blair assumed coverage on Moderna in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Brookline Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America raised Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.53.

Moderna Stock Down 3.3%

NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $137.99 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $77.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.27 and a beta of 0.91. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.28 and a 1-year high of $176.66.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.13) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported that their personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine, intismeran, combined with Keytruda, met the goals of a Phase 3 study involving 1,137 patients. The treatment reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence and distant spread versus Keytruda alone, strengthening the case for Moderna’s oncology pipeline and the commercial potential of the partnership. Reuters cancer vaccine breakthrough article
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA approved Moderna’s updated 2026–2027 Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 vaccines, targeting the XFG subvariant. The approval preserves access to the seasonal COVID-19 vaccine market, though future demand remains an important uncertainty. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded Moderna from “Hold” to “Buy” and assigned a $180 price target, indicating additional potential upside based on the company’s oncology opportunity and recent clinical progress. Argus upgrade article
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer advised a viewer to hold Moderna after the stock’s sharp rally, reflecting continued optimism about the Phase 3 cancer-vaccine result but also caution following the run-up. Jim Cramer Moderna commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna priced an upsized $2.6 billion offering of zero-coupon convertible senior notes due 2032, increased from the initially proposed $2.0 billion. Proceeds may fund oncology investments and debt repayment, but the larger financing raised concerns about future share dilution and explains much of the selling pressure. Moderna convertible notes offering
• Negative Sentiment: BioNTech’s decision to halt a mid-stage personalized mRNA colorectal-cancer vaccine trial after a review weakened sentiment across the mRNA oncology sector, raising broader questions about the difficulty of translating promising technology into successful cancer treatments. BioNTech colorectal cancer trial article

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.