Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Climb 4% – Should You Buy?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s share price was up 4% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $225.00 and last traded at $222.76. 10,701,369 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 12,678,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.16.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm is being driven by encouraging clinical data for Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine, particularly in melanoma. CEO Stéphane Bancel said the results could improve with longer follow-up and argued that the company’s technology would be difficult for competitors to replicate. Moderna CEO cancer vaccine article
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Moderna’s presentation at the 2026 ESMO Congress has reinforced the view that oncology could become an important long-term growth engine and help diversify the company beyond COVID-19 products. Moderna ESMO presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to Moderna’s upcoming Nov. 6 update, which could provide additional information on the cancer program, commercial outlook and financial performance. Heavy online searches indicate elevated attention, but do not necessarily represent new fundamental buying. Moderna Nov. 6 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: William Blair lowered Moderna to Market Perform from Outperform, citing valuation concerns after the stock’s sharp rally. Analysts have also reduced their FY2028 EPS estimate, highlighting the risk that current expectations already price in substantial oncology success. William Blair Moderna rating downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Comparisons with GSK emphasize Moderna’s premium valuation and ongoing execution risk. GSK’s specialty-medicines growth, broader pipeline and dividend may appear more attractive to investors seeking established cash generation rather than higher-risk oncology upside. GSK versus Moderna growth comparison

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRNA has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moderna in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wolfe Research raised Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Moderna from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, August 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued 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 $107.10.

Moderna Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $179.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.64. The firm has a market cap of $88.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.88 and a beta of 1.09.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.13) EPS. Moderna’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other Moderna news, CFO Jamey Mock sold 34,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $4,685,093.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,985,343.75. This represents a 36.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the firm’s 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 owned 74,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,374,353.55. This trade represents 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 197,251 shares of company stock valued at $33,875,904. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRNA. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in Moderna during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Moderna in the second quarter worth $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in Moderna in the first quarter worth $31,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in Moderna during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the third quarter worth $40,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.