Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Price Up 6.7% – What’s Next?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares were up 6.7% on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $243.98 and last traded at $242.08. 16,754,052 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 12,391,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.89.

Moderna News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are positioning ahead of a Saturday presentation of detailed Phase 3 data for Moderna’s personalized melanoma vaccine, developed with Merck. Positive results could strengthen the company’s emerging oncology business and support a higher valuation. Moderna Jumps 7% While Melanoma Vaccine Data Looms
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna’s cancer-treatment pipeline is drawing heavy buying as the market focuses on upcoming melanoma results and the company’s broader presence at ESMO 2026, one of the key oncology conferences. Merck/Moderna to Headline ESMO 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Oddo BHF raised its price target for Moderna to $251 from $170, adding to bullish sentiment and indicating that the firm sees greater potential in the company’s pipeline. Oddo BHF Adjusts Moderna Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also highlights Moderna as an artificial-intelligence and “biointelligence” healthcare investment, reflecting interest in data-driven drug development and testing but not a specific new operating announcement. The AI Trade Just Moved Into Your Bloodstream
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis argues investors should “sell the cancer vaccine hype,” warning that expectations surrounding the oncology program may have moved ahead of the evidence. The upcoming clinical readout therefore carries elevated downside risk if results disappoint. Moderna: Sell The Cancer Vaccine Hype
• Negative Sentiment: President Stephen Hoge and other company insiders reported stock sales, including transactions conducted under a trading plan. Planned sales do not necessarily signal deteriorating fundamentals, but they can weigh on sentiment after the sharp advance. Moderna’s Stephen Hoge Sells Shares Under Trading Plan

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRNA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Moderna from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, CLSA raised Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.45.

Moderna Stock Up 6.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a market capitalization of $96.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.30 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.42.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.13) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other Moderna news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $4,685,093.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,985,343.75. This trade represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total value of $5,807,574.22. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,525,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,921,913.54. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 197,251 shares of company stock worth $33,875,904. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Moderna in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in Moderna during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in Moderna during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can stimulate immune responses or support the treatment of disease. The company’s research programs span infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions and other therapeutic areas.

Moderna’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.