Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $40.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Moderna traded as high as $225.63 and last traded at $221.2880, with a volume of 377,183 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $225.00.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Brookline Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Moderna from $45.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Evercore increased their target price on Moderna from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moderna has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James M. Mock sold 34,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total value of $4,685,093.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares in the company, valued at $7,985,343.75. The trade was a 36.98% 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. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 40,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.13, for a total transaction of $5,807,574.22. Following the sale, the president directly owned 1,525,858 shares in the company, valued at $219,921,913.54. This trade 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. Insiders sold 118,882 shares of company stock worth $16,862,280 over the last three months. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm is being driven by encouraging developments around Moderna’s personalized mRNA cancer-vaccine program. Reports of a planned NIH-backed initiative to accelerate personalized cancer vaccines and expand research funding have lifted vaccine stocks, while positive cancer-vaccine results have strengthened expectations for a major future growth opportunity. Vaccine Stocks Rally on Reports of U.S.-led Push for Cancer Vaccines
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna’s addition to the Nasdaq-100 has provided a short-term technical catalyst, likely attracting index-related buying and increasing the stock’s visibility. Shares have gained more than 5% over the past week. MRNA Stock Gains Over $4B in a Week
• Positive Sentiment: Potential additional growth avenues include a new mRNA flu vaccine, which Canadian regulators are reviewing and which could potentially reduce hospitalizations if approved. Health Canada Reviewing New mRNA Flu Vaccine
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna will report third-quarter 2026 results before the market opens on November 6 and provide a corporate update. The release could become the next major catalyst, particularly for revenue trends, cash use, and pipeline milestones. Moderna to Report Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: The sharp rally has increased valuation concerns. Commentary notes that much of the expected value from Moderna’s oncology and vaccine pipeline may already be reflected in the share price, leaving it vulnerable to profit-taking and disappointment.
• Negative Sentiment: Moderna’s fundamentals remain challenging, with ongoing losses and relatively modest revenue. Recent open-market insider activity has consisted entirely of sales, while several published analyst targets remain far below the current trading level, highlighting downside risk if pipeline optimism fades. Moderna Slides as Investors Digest Recent Surge

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new position in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $564,272,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Moderna by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,384,000 after acquiring an additional 103,977 shares in the last quarter. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $161,642,545. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $139,317,000. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Trading Up 1.2%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.13) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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.