Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Climb 4.1% – Should You Buy?

Posted by Brian Himes on Oct 19th, 2026

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA – Get Free Report) traded up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $236.77 and last traded at $226.89. Approximately 18,751,272 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 52% from the average daily volume of 12,376,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $218.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded Moderna from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wolfe Research raised Moderna from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moderna from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Moderna from $45.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Bradesco Corretora raised Moderna to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moderna has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

Get Our Latest Report on Moderna

Moderna Stock Up 4.1%

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 company has a market cap of $90.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.40 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.18.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative net margin of 141.43% and a negative return on equity of 28.30%. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.13) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, President Stephen Hoge sold 39,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.72, for a total value of $8,640,084.40. Following the transaction, the president owned 1,636,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $361,222,626.80. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.95, for a total value of $485,766.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,374,353.55. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 197,251 shares of company stock valued at $33,875,904. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,142,877,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter worth $564,272,000. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $161,642,545. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $139,317,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Moderna in the second quarter valued at $119,168,000. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moderna

(Get Free Report)

Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company that develops medicines and vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Its platform is designed to instruct cells to produce proteins that can stimulate immune responses or support the treatment of disease. The company’s research programs span infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune conditions and other therapeutic areas.

Moderna’s commercial products include Spikevax, an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mRESVIA, an mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.