Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 64.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,346 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Moderna were worth $2,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRNA. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Moderna by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,847,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,125,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,276 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Moderna by 21.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,224,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,166,000 after purchasing an additional 906,114 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Moderna in the third quarter valued at $23,825,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Moderna by 10,687.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 319,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,353,000 after buying an additional 316,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Moderna by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,073,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,431,000 after buying an additional 178,939 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRNA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Moderna from $59.00 to $45.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Moderna from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Moderna from $178.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $42,985.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $571,440.60. This trade represents a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $60,676.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,717 shares in the company, valued at $843,690.43. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,379 shares of company stock valued at $158,195. Company insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRNA opened at $40.43 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a PE ratio of -6.95 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.20. Moderna, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.80 and a 12 month high of $170.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.89) by $1.92. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Moderna had a negative net margin of 43.77% and a negative return on equity of 17.68%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.39) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Moderna Profile

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.