Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Stock Jumps 4.6% – Time to Buy?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s stock price traded up 4.6% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $227.09 and last traded at $226.30. 16,501,522 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 34% from the average session volume of 12,272,371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.25.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck CEO Rob Davis said the personalized cancer vaccine developed with Moderna should become faster to manufacture over time. He described the current process as complex but increasingly standardized, supporting the potential for improved scalability, commercial execution and margins. Merck CEO tells CNBC he expects breakthrough cancer vaccine will become faster to make
• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm around positive mRNA cancer-vaccine results, together with Moderna’s inclusion in the Nasdaq-100, has driven a sharp weekly gain and lifted the company’s market capitalization by about $4.2 billion. MRNA Stock Gains Over $4B in a Week: Time to Buy, Hold or Sell?
• Positive Sentiment: Health Canada is reviewing Moderna’s next-generation mRNA influenza vaccine, which could reduce hospitalizations and provide another potential commercial growth driver beyond COVID-19 and oncology. Health Canada reviewing new mRNA flu vaccine
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna will report third-quarter 2026 results and provide a corporate update on November 6. The announcement itself contains no financial results, but the event may become a near-term catalyst for revenue, pipeline and cash-use guidance. Moderna to Report Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary cautions that Moderna’s rapid revaluation and premium versus BioNTech leave the stock vulnerable if cancer-vaccine results, approvals or commercialization progress disappoint. Moderna Is Now Worth More Than 3X as Much as BioNTech

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus raised Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Singular Research upgraded Moderna to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.60.

Moderna Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $146.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.35 billion, a PE ratio of -28.32 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.13) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total transaction of $5,807,574.22. Following the transaction, the president owned 1,525,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,921,913.54. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jamey Mock sold 34,836 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $7,985,343.75. This represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 118,882 shares of company stock worth $16,862,280. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter worth $564,272,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,384,000 after buying an additional 103,977 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Moderna by 59.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,392,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,549,000 after buying an additional 891,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $161,642,545. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.