Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 80,198 Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 52.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,064 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,198 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Moderna were worth $8,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Moderna by 45.0% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Moderna during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moderna by 953.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRNA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on Moderna from $130.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Moderna from $155.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Moderna from $178.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Moderna from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moderna currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.44.

Moderna Price Performance

MRNA opened at $63.94 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.43. Moderna, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.55 and a 52-week high of $170.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.08 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a current ratio of 4.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($3.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($3.47) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $241.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.41 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 116.18% and a negative return on equity of 21.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($3.62) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other Moderna news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.08, for a total value of $1,756,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,269,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,656,276.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 689 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.24, for a total transaction of $81,467.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,269 shares in the company, valued at $859,486.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.08, for a total value of $1,756,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,269,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,656,276.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 78,158 shares of company stock worth $9,259,012. 15.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers, develops, and commercializes messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Its respiratory vaccines include COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, spikevax, and hMPV/PIV3 vaccines; latent vaccines comprise cytomegalovirus, epstein-barr virus, herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines; public health vaccines consists of Zika, Nipah, Mpox vaccines; and infectious diseases vaccines, such as lyme and norovirus vaccines.