Moderna Insiders Selling US$3.3m In Stock Relieved As Market Cap Slides To US$46b

Insiders at Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) sold US$3.3m worth of stock at an average price of US$88.88 a share over the past year, making the most of their investment. The company's market worth decreased by US$8.1b over the past week after the stock price dropped 15%, although insiders were able to minimize their losses

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Moderna

Moderna Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the CEO & Director, Stephane Bancel, sold US$2.3m worth of shares at a price of US$88.88 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$116, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 0.1% of Stephane Bancel's holding.

Moderna insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Does Moderna Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Moderna insiders own 9.6% of the company, currently worth about US$4.4b based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Moderna Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Moderna shares in the last quarter. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Moderna, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Moderna.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com