Moderna (MRNA) Shares Skyrocket, What You Need To Know

What Happened?

Shares of biotechnology company Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) jumped 8.8% in the afternoon session after the company, in partnership with Merck, announced positive results from a five-year follow-up study of their skin cancer vaccine. 

The mid-stage study showed that the vaccine, when used with Merck's immunotherapy drug Keytruda, cut the risk of recurrence or death by a sustained 49% in patients with high-risk melanoma. This news highlighted the potential long-term benefits of the company's cancer immunotherapy. The positive data prompted a favorable reaction from analysts, with Bernstein raising its price target on the stock to $35. The stock's performance reflected investor optimism as it reached a 52-week high.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Moderna’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 52 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 10 months ago when the stock dropped 12.5% on the news that Peter Marks, the head of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), resigned on Friday 28 March 2025. 

He noted his departure was related to "misinformation and lies" around immunization and raised concerns about the Trump administration's ability to "swiftly approve vaccines critical." His resignation raised concerns on Wall Street, with some analysts viewing his exit as a setback for companies like Moderna. Evan David Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, described the move as a "significant negative" for the broader biotech and biopharma sectors, reflecting concerns about potential regulatory uncertainty ahead.

Moderna is up 52.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $46.97 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Moderna’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $353.18.

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