Arizona PSPRS Trust Makes New $540,000 Investment in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

Arizona PSPRS Trust bought a new stake in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000. Moderna comprises 0.0% of Arizona PSPRS Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Moderna by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares during the period. Aufman Associates Inc raised its holdings in Moderna by 146.7% in the 4th quarter. Aufman Associates Inc now owns 43,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 25,691 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP raised its holdings in Moderna by 216.2% in the 4th quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 68,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,011,000 after buying an additional 126,831 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at about $378,299,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Price Performance

Shares of MRNA opened at $47.44 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.41. Moderna, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $59.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a PE ratio of -5.82 and a beta of 1.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.02) by ($0.38). Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. The business had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.52) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRNA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Moderna from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Moderna from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 target price on Moderna and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $35.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other Moderna news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $433,878.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,924 shares in the company, valued at $183,800.16. The trade was a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total value of $2,581,462.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,477,997 shares in the company, valued at $71,535,054.80. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 68,281 shares of company stock valued at $3,280,293 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. The company’s platform leverages synthetic mRNA to instruct cells to produce proteins that can prevent or treat diseases. Since its founding in 2010, Moderna has advanced from early-stage research into a broad pipeline of vaccine and therapeutic candidates designed to address infectious diseases, rare genetic disorders and chronic illnesses.

Moderna’s flagship product is its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, which was the first of its kind to receive emergency use authorization and later full approval in multiple jurisdictions.