Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $41.00. The stock had previously closed at $43.93, but opened at $46.69. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Moderna shares last traded at $46.5050, with a volume of 6,606,457 shares changing hands.

MRNA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Moderna from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Moderna from a “market perform” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Moderna in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $31.47.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In other Moderna news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 23,853 shares of the firm’s 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 owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,679.52. This trade represents a 85.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FDA reverses refusal and will review Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine (mRNA‑1010), a development that reopens a major new commercial opportunity and is the primary near‑term catalyst for the stock rally. US FDA to initiate review of Moderna’s influenza vaccine (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: FDA set a PDUFA goal date (Aug. 5, 2026) after a Type A meeting and Moderna proposed an age‑based approval strategy (full approval 50–64, accelerated approval 65+ with post‑marketing study), improving the odds of a timely review and potential market entry for the next season. Moderna Announces FDA Will Initiate Review (Access Newswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Clinical momentum: a mid‑stage trial of a combined flu/COVID mRNA vaccine showed robust immune responses without safety concerns, supporting Moderna’s broader mRNA respiratory vaccine franchise. This underpins longer‑term revenue potential. Moderna combo flu/COVID vaccine succeeds mid-stage trial (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall‑street tone: at least one analyst note flagged upside for MRNA, which can amplify buying interest alongside the FDA news. Goldman Sachs analyst says Moderna stock expected to rise (American Banking News)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor engagement: Moderna scheduled presentations at TD Cowen and Barclays healthcare conferences in March; these events may provide incremental clarity on regulatory plans and commercial timelines but are informational rather than game‑changing. Moderna to Present at Upcoming Conferences (Access Newswire)
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang: BioNTech filed a patent‑infringement suit against Moderna over its COVID‑19 vaccine (mNexspike), introducing litigation risk and potential damages/royalty exposure if claims succeed. BioNTech sues Moderna for patent infringement (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Additional IP pressure: a court recently rejected two Moderna defenses in a separate patent dispute with Arbutus, underscoring ongoing intellectual property risks that could affect margins or product freedom to operate. Court rejects defenses in Moderna/Arbutus patent row (BioSpace)

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 3.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,708,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,150,743,000 after buying an additional 1,312,192 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Moderna in the fourth quarter worth about $378,299,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Moderna by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,877,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,690 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Moderna by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Theleme Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 2.5% in 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. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moderna Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $19.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.84 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $38.61 and its 200 day moving average is $30.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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. Moderna had a negative net margin of 145.16% and a negative return on equity of 30.15%. The firm had revenue of $678.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.91) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.61 EPS for the current year.

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.