On August 18, 2023, it was revealed that Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co has acquired a new position in shares of Moderna, Inc. This acquisition took place during the first quarter and was disclosed with the SEC. The institutional investor now holds 2,871 shares of Moderna’s stock, which amounts to an approximate value of $441,000.
Moderna is a biotechnology company that focuses on developing messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutics and vaccines. The company’s recent quarterly earnings data, announced on August 3rd, showcased both positive and negative aspects of its financial performance.
During the second quarter, Moderna reported earnings per share (EPS) of ($3.62), surpassing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.84) by $0.22. However, the company’s revenue for the quarter amounted to $344.00 million, falling short of analyst estimates that projected $307.67 million in revenue.
Despite this decline in revenue compared to the same period last year (which saw a decrease of 92.8%), Moderna managed to maintain a return on equity (ROE) of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.33%. This indicates a degree of stability within the company’s financials amid challenging market conditions.
Looking ahead, equities analysts predict that Moderna will report earnings per share of -3.94 for the current year as a whole.
Given Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s recent acquisition of Moderna shares and the company’s better-than-expected quarterly EPS results, it seems that there is optimism surrounding Moderna as an investment opportunity.
However, investing always carries certain risks and uncertainty in the market can lead to unexpected outcomes. Therefore, it is essential for potential investors to conduct thorough research and analysis before making any investment decisions regarding Moderna or any other stock.
As always, investors are encouraged to seek professional financial advice to ensure that their investment strategies align with their individual financial goals and risk tolerance levels.
Please note that the information mentioned in this article is based on publicly available data as of August 18, 2023, and may be subject to change. It is always prudent to refer to the latest updates and disclosures made by Moderna and other relevant authorities for the most accurate and up-to-date information.
Moderna, Inc.
MRNA
Buy
Updated on: 18/08/2023
Social Sentiments
11:00 PM (UTC)
Date:18 August, 2023
0
Twitter Sentiment
0
Stocktwits Sentiment
Moderna, Inc.: Significant Changes in Investor Landscape and Insider Transactions Contribute to Intriguing Stock Scenario
Moderna, Inc. has recently seen a number of significant changes in its investor landscape. A few prominent investors have made modifications to their holdings of the stock, creating an intriguing scenario for market observers. Baillie Gifford & Co., for instance, has increased its position in Moderna by 3.7% during the first quarter, thus acquiring an additional 1,679,425 shares. This move has resulted in Baillie Gifford & Co owning a total of 46,466,171 shares with a value of $7,136,275,000.
Similarly, Morgan Stanley made strides by growing its position in Moderna by 19.1% in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year. The financial institution now possesses 4,187,353 shares valued at $752,133,000 after purchasing an extra 670,284 shares.
Additionally, Renaissance Technologies LLC witnessed growth in its Moderna holdings with a staggering increase of 108.2% during the first quarter. As a result of this increase, Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns and controls around 3,818,180 shares with an estimated value of $657,720 worth.
Northern Trust Corp also experienced minor growth in its investment portfolio as it grew its position in Moderna by 0.6% during the same period.
Notably impressive is Norges Bank’s latest investment move to newly acquire Moderna stock worth a remarkable $628 million during the fourth quarter.
These major institutional investors currently account for approximately 70.44% ownership of Moderna’s stock.
As far as recent stock performance is concerned,
Shares of MRNA opened at $106.24 on Friday and have been experiencing fluctuations throughout recent months. The stock’s current average is at $117.88 over a fifty-day simple moving average but declines further at $136.11 over two hundred days.
Furthermore,
Moderna boasts a substantial $40.43 billion market capitalization and maintains a PE ratio of 39.20. It also holds a recorded fifty-two-week low of $95.02 and a fifty-two-week high of $217.25 as indicators of its stock performance.
Amidst these developments, news regarding specific insider transactions has emerged in the past few weeks.
For instance, President Stephen Hoge sold 247 shares of Moderna’s stock at an average price of $102.53 for a total transaction value of $25,324.91 on Thursday, August 10th.
Another notable transaction involves Director Noubar Afeyan’s sale of 15,000 shares at an average price of $110.99 on Wednesday, August 2nd. The total worth of this transaction amounted to $1,664,850.
Insiders’ sales activities have resulted in a collective cash-out totaling 354,002 shares over the last ninety days with an overall value amounting to $44,049,408. It is important to note that insiders currently hold approximately 15.70% ownership in Moderna.
The market opinion regarding Moderna reflects moderately mixed sentiment from various brokerages.
Guggenheim initiated coverage on Moderna’s stock with a “neutral” rating back in April while Bank of America reduced their price objective for Moderna from $175 to $150 and assigned it a “neutral” rating recently in August.
HSBC assumed coverage for Moderna in July and labeled it as “reduce” with a price objective set at $97.
William Blair also commenced coverage on Moderna by giving it a “market perform” rating alongside assigning it a price target of $136.28.
Royal Bank of Canada darkened the tone by decreasing the price objective from an initial value of $200 to $190 while upholding an “outperform” rating for the company’s stock.
Overall, there are three sell ratings, nine hold ratings, and six buy ratings with an average price target of $156.07 according to Bloomberg.com.
All in all, due to the adjustments in holdings made by significant investors coupled with insider transactions and the varied opinions from brokerages, Moderna’s stock remains an intricate scenario for market participants to decipher.
