Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Up 8.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Moderna shares rose 8.3% to roughly $213, helped by its planned reentry into the Nasdaq-100, which could generate buying from index-tracking funds.
• Investor optimism is increasingly centered on Moderna’s oncology pipeline, particularly its personalized cancer therapy being developed with Merck, along with the company’s ability to manufacture future cancer treatments at scale.
• Risks remain despite the rally: analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $78.17, while execution challenges, elevated valuation concerns, and recent insider selling weigh on the outlook.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) was up 8.3% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $207.74 and last traded at $213.3890. 2,813,170 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 12,095,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.00.

More Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq-100 reentry may drive additional demand. Moderna is scheduled to rejoin the Nasdaq-100 before the October 9 market open, replacing Warner Bros. Discovery. The inclusion follows a substantial rise in Moderna’s market capitalization and could prompt buying by index-tracking funds, providing a near-term technical tailwind. Moderna's Nasdaq-100 Entry: What Does It Mean for the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are increasingly focused on Moderna’s cancer opportunity. Moderna and Merck are expanding development of the individualized neoantigen therapy intismeran autogene, also known as V940 or mRNA-4157, including studies in melanoma and other cancers. The collaboration with Tempus is intended to support potential commercialization and strengthens the long-term oncology narrative. Tempus Announces Multi-Year Collaboration with Moderna and Merck
• Positive Sentiment: Manufacturing capabilities are becoming a key part of the bull case. Recent coverage highlights Moderna’s efforts to apply lessons from its COVID-era production network to manufacture future cancer therapies at commercial scale. Successful execution could improve confidence in the company’s ability to convert its pipeline into revenue. Moderna's Next Test: Manufacturing a Cancer Franchise at Scale
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains cautious. Morgan Stanley reportedly assigned Moderna a “Hold” rating, suggesting that the recent rally may already reflect substantial optimism about the oncology pipeline and index inclusion. Moderna Gets a Hold from Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and valuation risks are rising after the surge. Commentary emphasizes that scaling cancer manufacturing will be a major test, while reports that insiders are trimming holdings could add to concerns that the stock has moved ahead of near-term fundamentals. Moderna Builds the Back Office for a Cancer Franchise as Insiders Trim Holdings

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. CLSA upgraded shares of Moderna to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Brookline Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Argus raised shares of Moderna from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Moderna from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.17.

Moderna Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.94. The stock has a market cap of $84.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.37 and a beta of 1.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.13) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total transaction of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,374,353.55. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were 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 owned 1,525,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $219,921,913.54. The trade was 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. Insiders have sold 118,882 shares of company stock worth $16,862,280 in the last ninety days. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Moderna by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Moderna by 8.8% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Moderna by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Moderna by 13.8% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,491 shares of the company's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Moderna by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. 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 help prevent or treat disease, supporting the company's work across infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

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.

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