Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Posted by Stanley Muller on Aug 28th, 2026

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA – Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after Argus upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Argus now has a $180.00 price target on the stock. Approximately 6,202,817 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the previous session’s volume of 11,322,521 shares.The stock last traded at $137.32 and had previously closed at $142.77.

MRNA has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Moderna from $48.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Moderna from $67.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.53.

View Our Latest Stock Report on MRNA

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were 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 $3,373,400. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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. Also, President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $2,739,870.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,483,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Moderna News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported strong interim Phase 3 results for their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran, combined with Keytruda. The treatment significantly improved recurrence-free and distant-metastasis-free survival in patients with surgically removed, high-risk melanoma, providing important clinical validation for Moderna’s oncology strategy. Success after a century of failures: Inside Moderna and Merck’s cancer vaccine breakthrough
Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA approved Moderna’s updated 2026–2027 Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 vaccines targeting the XFG subvariant. The approval supports availability for older adults and higher-risk patients ahead of the new respiratory-virus season. Moderna Receives U.S. FDA Approval for Updated 2026-2027 COVID-19 Vaccines
Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded Moderna from “hold” to “buy” and assigned a $180 price target, signaling that the firm sees additional upside based on the company’s pipeline and recent clinical progress.
Neutral Sentiment: Moderna priced $2.6 billion of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2032, increased from the previously announced $2.0 billion. Proceeds may fund oncology investments, general corporate needs and debt repayment. A hedge overlay is intended to reduce dilution risk up to a specified cap, while the initial conversion price is approximately $210.58. Moderna Announces Pricing of Upsized $2.6 Billion Offering of Convertible Senior Notes
Negative Sentiment: The upsized financing is weighing on MRNA because it increases potential future share dilution and highlights Moderna’s need to fund growth while remaining unprofitable. Investors appear to be prioritizing the near-term financing over the longer-term oncology opportunity, causing shares to fall.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in Moderna in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna in the first quarter worth $31,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moderna by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.33% of the company’s stock.

Moderna Stock Down 4.6%

The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.62 and its 200 day moving average is $59.17. The stock has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.05 and a beta of 0.91.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.93 million. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.13) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.18 EPS for the current year.

Moderna Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.