Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Raised to “Buy” at Argus

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) was upgraded by analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $180.00 target price on the stock. Argus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 26.08% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Brookline Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Moderna in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Moderna from $41.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Moderna from $40.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moderna from $50.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.53.

Moderna Stock Performance

Moderna stock opened at $142.77 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.17. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Moderna has a twelve month low of $22.28 and a twelve month high of $176.66. The company has a market cap of $57.00 billion, a PE ratio of -17.87 and a beta of 0.91.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.03) by $0.06. Moderna had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 141.43%.The company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.93 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.13) earnings per share. Moderna’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moderna will post -6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moderna

In other Moderna news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 3,471 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $173,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,400. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $2,739,870.32. Following the transaction, the president owned 1,483,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,225,271.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moderna

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Moderna by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,584,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,226,335,000 after buying an additional 399,487 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $2,142,877,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Moderna by 6,698.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 27,681,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,523,000 after acquiring an additional 27,274,128 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Moderna during the fourth quarter worth $378,299,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Moderna by 15.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,216,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,131 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Moderna News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moderna this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck reported positive interim Phase 3 results for personalized mRNA cancer vaccine intismeran combined with Keytruda. The therapy significantly improved recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival in patients with surgically removed, high-risk melanoma, reportedly reducing recurrence by about 49%. The data provide 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 FDA approved Moderna’s updated 2026–2027 Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 vaccines, formulated for the XFG subvariant. The approvals preserve Moderna’s access to the U.S. seasonal COVID vaccine market, although commercial demand remains a key uncertainty. Moderna Receives U.S. FDA Approval for Updated 2026-2027 COVID-19 Vaccines
• Neutral Sentiment: Moderna priced $2.6 billion of zero-interest convertible senior notes due 2032, up from the initially proposed $2.0 billion. Proceeds may support oncology investments and debt repayment. The company purchased a hedge overlay designed to offset dilution up to a stock-price cap initially equal to a 175% premium, partially mitigating—but not eliminating—dilution concerns. Moderna Announces Pricing of Upsized $2.6 Billion Offering of Convertible Senior Notes
• Negative Sentiment: The upsized financing adds potential future share dilution and signals that Moderna is raising substantial capital while still reporting losses. Investors may also view the deal as a near-term financing overhang, despite its potential to fund the company’s higher-growth oncology business.

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.