Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 112,509 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 32% compared to the typical daily volume of 85,335 call options.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Settlement clears a multi‑year patent fight, removing a major legal overhang that had weighed on valuation — the market has reacted positively even though the company must pay to resolve claims. Moderna rises on $2.25 billion settlement, clearing COVID vaccine patent dispute overhang
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage confirms Moderna will pay up to $2.25B (reports vary on final amounts), which reduces litigation uncertainty that had capped upside — investors view clarity as a catalyst despite the cash cost. Moderna to pay up to $2.25B to end mRNA vaccine patent fight
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/coverage optimism: a buy initiation highlights multiyear growth drivers (mNEXSPIKE approvals, flu/combination vaccines, oncology programs) and presents a constructive view on narrowing losses and 2026 guidance. The Sun Will Shine On Moderna Again – Initiating With A Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail and momentum: Reddit-driven buying and recent volatility have lifted shares YTD, creating short‑term catalyst-driven spikes but also raising the risk of sharp pullbacks. Reddit Traders Are Cheering Moderna While Bears Watch The Cash Burn
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer-term debate: pieces weighing whether Moderna is still a “COVID company” vs. an oncology/mRNA platform argue the stock will hinge on upcoming Phase 3 clinical readouts — big upside if oncology data holds, big downside if it disappoints. Moderna Stock (MRNA): Is It a Buy Now? 7 Questions After the Crash
• Neutral Sentiment: Market take on volatility: general coverage grouping Moderna with other volatile names notes a bounce from lows but emphasizes differing fundamentals and drivers — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. These 3 Stocks Just Bounced From Lows — What Wall Street Thinks Comes Next
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory uncertainty: a CNBC piece highlights recent FDA reversals and denials across drug applications — it cites an instance where the FDA initially refused to review Moderna’s flu shot before reversing course, underscoring the regulatory risk that can weigh on near‑term valuation. FDA reversals leave investors worrying about the fates of other experimental drugs

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRNA. Berenberg Bank set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price target on shares of Moderna and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $35.00 price objective on Moderna in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other news, President Stephen Hoge sold 160,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.84, for a total transaction of $7,814,839.56. Following the sale, the president owned 1,457,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,180,734.68. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 23,853 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $703,186.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,679.52. This trade represents a 85.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,366 shares of company stock worth $8,531,936. 10.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRNA. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Moderna by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moderna in the fourth quarter valued at $240,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Moderna in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,425,000. Hamilton Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,098,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 143.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 68,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 40,202 shares during the period. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moderna Stock Performance

MRNA traded down $1.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $52.00. The stock had a trading volume of 7,602,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,591,249. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.06. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of -7.15 and a beta of 1.29. Moderna has a 12 month low of $22.28 and a 12 month high of $59.55.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported ($2.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.79) by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $678.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.14 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 145.16% and a negative return on equity of 30.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($2.91) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Moderna will post -9.61 EPS for the current year.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. The company’s platform leverages synthetic mRNA to instruct cells to produce proteins that can prevent or treat diseases. Since its founding in 2010, Moderna has advanced from early-stage research into a broad pipeline of vaccine and therapeutic candidates designed to address infectious diseases, rare genetic disorders and chronic illnesses.

Moderna’s flagship product is its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, which was the first of its kind to receive emergency use authorization and later full approval in multiple jurisdictions.