Moderna, Inc. $MRNA Stock Holdings Raised by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,643 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Moderna were worth $8,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter worth $161,642,545. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $119,168,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Moderna by 1,387.6% in the second 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 last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of Moderna by 2,042.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 69,203 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,013,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRNA. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Bradesco Corretora upgraded Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Moderna from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.10.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna said its mRNA-2808 multiple myeloma data will be presented orally at the American Society of Hematology meeting. The early results included four confirmed responses among 11 heavily pretreated patients, supporting interest in the therapy’s approach of using mRNA to produce three cancer-targeting agents. Article: Moderna Soars 8% on Early Multiple Myeloma Data
• Positive Sentiment: A WHO technical advisory group recommended advancing Moderna’s investigational Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine, mRNA-1469, into a Phase 2/3 efficacy study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following encouraging preclinical and Phase 1 results. Article: Moderna Advances Investigational Bundibugyo Ebolavirus Vaccine Toward Phase 2/3 Study
• Positive Sentiment: A separate Moderna–Merck cancer vaccine program showed a 42% reduction in the risk of death and melanoma recurrence when combined with Keytruda in a late-stage trial, adding to the potential value of Moderna’s oncology pipeline. Article: Moderna’s Cancer Vaccine Is Incredibly Promising, but This Could Be a Major Obstacle to Its Success
• Neutral Sentiment: The myeloma findings are preliminary, based on a small group of patients, and the treatment is still investigational; the ASH presentation may provide more detail, but the data do not yet establish broader or lasting benefit. Article: Moderna Announces Oral Presentation of mRNA-2808 Clinical Data

Moderna Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $258.38 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $187.78 and a 200-day moving average of $89.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. Moderna, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.28 and a 52-week high of $258.72.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other Moderna news, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total value of $5,807,574.22. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 1,525,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,921,913.54. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,374,353.55. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Moderna 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 stimulate immune responses or support the treatment of disease. The company’s research programs span infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions and other therapeutic areas.

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.