Moderna Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Aug 1st, 2026

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA – Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 82,913 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 71% compared to the typical volume of 48,590 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moderna from $49.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Moderna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Moderna from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Read Our Latest Report on MRNA

Moderna Stock Performance

Moderna stock opened at $54.82 on Friday. Moderna has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $85.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $21.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.51.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($2.13) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moderna will post -6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Moderna

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

Positive Sentiment: Moderna reported second-quarter EPS of -$1.97, better than the roughly -$2.03 consensus and an improvement from -$2.13 a year earlier. Revenue was approximately $145 million, while management reiterated its plan for up to 10% revenue growth in 2026. Moderna Reports Q2 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
Positive Sentiment: The company improved its 2026 operating-expense outlook by about $200 million and now expects year-end cash of $4.7 billion to $5.2 billion, supporting its effort to reduce cash burn. Moderna also faces a potentially important catalyst on August 5, when regulators are scheduled to decide on its seasonal flu vaccine candidate, mFLUSIVA. Moderna Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Neutral Sentiment: Trading activity showed elevated interest in Moderna call options, with 82,913 contracts acquired versus a typical daily volume of 48,590. This may indicate speculative bullish positioning, but options activity alone does not establish a sustained change in investor sentiment.
Negative Sentiment: Moderna’s Phase 3 mRNA-1403 norovirus vaccine trial did not meet the statistical criteria for early success at its interim analysis. The company plans to add another participant cohort, extending the trial into a fourth season and delaying clarity on a potential commercial opportunity. Moderna Adds New Cohort to Phase III Vaccine Trial
Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Moderna’s dependence on declining COVID-19 vaccine sales. Although the quarterly loss narrowed, the company still posted a GAAP net loss of about $782 million, and reports characterized revenue as weaker than Wall Street expected. The norovirus setback therefore outweighed the earnings and cost-control improvements. Moderna Misses Quarterly Revenue Estimates on COVID Vaccine Weakness

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $433,878.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $183,800.16. This trade represents a 70.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 119,406 shares of company stock worth $5,928,762 over the last quarter. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moderna

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in Moderna in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Moderna by 35.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in Moderna during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Moderna

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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.