Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Up 5.8% Following Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Moderna shares rose 5.8% after quarterly results beat expectations: EPS was $0.38 versus analysts’ forecast of a $1.10 loss, while revenue reached $1.31 billion, up 29.2% year over year.
• The company raised its 2026 revenue-growth outlook to 15%–25%. Its personalized cancer therapy reduced melanoma recurrence or death risk by 42% in Phase 3 data, with an FDA filing targeted by year-end 2026.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold,” and the consensus price target of $113.75 is well below the stock’s reported trading price.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $280.80 and last traded at $269.00. 12,298,800 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 12,650,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.19.

The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $1.48. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 25.79% and a negative net margin of 110.46%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $890.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.51) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna raised its 2026 revenue-growth outlook to 15%–25%, citing respiratory-vaccine gains and lower costs. The upbeat outlook follows a quarterly earnings and revenue beat, strengthening the case that its business is performing better than expected. Moderna Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Raised Outlook and Oncology
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna’s personalized cancer therapy intismeran reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42% in Phase 3 data. The company is targeting an FDA filing by the end of 2026, which could set up a regulatory decision in 2027; approval is not assured. Moderna: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a concern: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $195 but kept a neutral rating, while another fair-value estimate increased to $145.42. Both figures are substantially below the stock’s recent trading level, suggesting analysts see downside risk if expectations are not met. Goldman Sachs price-target update

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, August 28th. They set a "hold" rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Moderna from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Bradesco Corretora raised shares of Moderna to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. William Blair downgraded shares of Moderna from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.75.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other Moderna news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $4,685,093.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,985,343.75. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders 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 large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth about $564,272,000. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $161,642,545. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $139,317,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,168,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moderna Stock Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $191.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 3.47 and a current ratio of 3.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.89 and a beta of 1.16.

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 help prevent or treat disease.

The company's commercial products include Spikevax, a vaccine against COVID-19, and mRESVIA, a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Moderna also researches potential mRNA-based vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases, cancer, and rare diseases.

Founded in 2010 as Moderna Therapeutics, the company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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