Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 18.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 70,191 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,960 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Moderna were worth $4,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRNA. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Moderna by 53.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Moderna by 149.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 85,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,687,000 after acquiring an additional 51,000 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Moderna by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Moderna by 30.5% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 591,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,557,000 after acquiring an additional 138,378 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Moderna by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,132,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,533,000 after purchasing an additional 83,082 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of MRNA opened at $42.05 on Wednesday. Moderna, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.80 and a 1 year high of $170.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.18 billion, a PE ratio of -7.23 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.62.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly 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. Moderna had a negative net margin of 43.77% and a negative return on equity of 17.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.39) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other news, CFO James M. Mock sold 715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $42,985.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,440.60. This trade represents a 7.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,609 shares of company stock valued at $112,295. Insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRNA shares. Oppenheimer cut Moderna from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Moderna from $60.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.26.

Moderna Company 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.