California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 149,192 Shares of Moderna, Inc. $MRNA

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 628,160 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 149,192 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.16% of Moderna worth $31,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRNA. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 35.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moderna during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Moderna by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moderna Stock Performance

Shares of MRNA opened at $59.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of -7.32 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.13 and a 200-day moving average of $51.36. Moderna, Inc. has a one year low of $22.28 and a one year high of $85.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($3.40) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $389.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.52) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 260.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,400. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Abbas Hussain sold 5,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total value of $264,951.66. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,066 shares in the company, valued at $562,637.58. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 125,088 shares of company stock worth $6,193,713 in the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRNA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Moderna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Moderna from $49.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Moderna Company Profile

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.