Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $46.29 and last traded at $46.1230, with a volume of 4061876 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.00.

Moderna News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Five‑year Phase 2b data for Moderna’s individualized cancer vaccine (intismeran/V940) plus Merck’s Keytruda showed a sustained ~49% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death in high‑risk melanoma — a major clinical validation for Moderna’s oncology program and a clear near‑term fundamentals catalyst. Moderna, Merck’s skin cancer vaccine shows sustained benefit after five years
• Positive Sentiment: The stock has been trading up into a 52‑week high, reflecting renewed investor appetite as clinical momentum and corporate guidance updates shift sentiment. Moderna stock hits 52-week high at $45.44
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna raised its near‑term revenue outlook and highlighted significant cost reductions (lowered operating expense guidance), which improves the cash‑flow trajectory and helps justify re‑rating if clinical programs convert to approvals and sales. Moderna Pops 17%—Is There Life in MRNA, Down 90% from COVID High?
• Neutral Sentiment: Options flow and elevated derivatives activity show traders positioning for continued volatility around upcoming readouts — signals of heightened market attention but not a directional guarantee. Moderna’s Options: A Look at What the Big Money is Thinking
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna has several upcoming program catalysts (Phase 3/registrational readouts for seasonal vaccines and pivotal oncology trials planned in 2026) — these are potential upside drivers but remain binary and timing‑dependent. Moderna & Merck Announce 5-Year Data for Intismeran Autogene
• Negative Sentiment: Structural headwinds remain: revenue is still well below peak (recent quarters heavily reliant on COVID vaccine sales), the company is unprofitable on GAAP metrics, and sell‑side consensus targets remain meaningfully below current levels — leaving room for pullbacks if clinical or commercial execution slips. Moderna Pops 17%—Is There Life in MRNA, Down 90% from COVID High?

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRNA has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Moderna from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Moderna from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Moderna in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Moderna from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moderna has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $30.36.

Moderna Trading Up 11.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.92 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.37.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.15) by $1.64. Moderna had a negative net margin of 139.61% and a negative return on equity of 29.81%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $893.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 45.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 23,853 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $703,186.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,679.52. This represents a 85.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moderna

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRNA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moderna by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,708,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312,192 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Moderna by 19.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,877,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,690 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Moderna by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,131 shares during the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Moderna by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 8,068,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,417,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $94,910,000. Institutional investors own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

About Moderna

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.