NEW YORK, June 27, 2026, 10:04 (EDT)
- Moderna picked up 5.2% on the week as a 12.6% surge Friday wiped out previous declines.
- The stock finished Friday 52% over the mean analyst target tracked by MarketScreener. Still, shares are 14.5% under Piper Sandler’s new $77 target.
- Next week has four normal U.S. stock sessions. Nasdaq will close July 3 for Independence Day observed.
Moderna, Inc. NASDAQ:MRNA jumped 12.59% Friday to close at $67.27, snapping a stretch this week where traders mostly ignored pipeline optionality. The stock started the week at $63.96 and finished up $3.31 for the week. Most of that came Friday, when the shares rose $7.52.
Volume made a difference for investors, as the jump wasn’t only about biotech stocks moving up. Friday saw 14.46 million shares trade, more than twice Thursday’s 6.80 million. The stock traded between $59.23 and $69.285, closing close to the high.
S&P 500 closed down 0.05% Friday, the Nasdaq dropped 0.24%. Reuters said a drop in chip stocks weighed on the S&P, which ended just below flat, while Moderna climbed along with other healthcare stocks. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA:XBI) added 2.45%, iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) was up 1.99%, and the Vanguard Health Care ETF (NYSEARCA:VHT) gained 2.82%. Moderna outperformed the sector and all these ETFs.
Valuation is a thornier story. MarketScreener lists 24 analysts on the stock with a mean “Hold” and an average price target of $44.25, while shares last closed at $67.27. That’s about 52% over the average target, even as Piper Sandler raised its target up to $77 from $69 and stuck with Overweight. MarketScreener
Piper’s new target says there’s 14.5% upside from Friday’s close. Its old $69 target meant just 2.6% higher. Shares jumped 12.6% in a day, so the new target mostly maintains the case for bulls, rather than setting up a much bigger gap.
Moderna shares moved up after its June 25 Science Day, where the drugmaker pushed research efforts beyond vaccines. CEO Stéphane Bancel said Moderna is working to become “a diversified, multi-modality biotechnology company” and pointed to “new modalities soon to be in the clinic, like in vivo CAR-T.” Nasdaq
mRNA-6007, a new in vivo CAR-T asset targeting systemic lupus erythematosus and other B-cell autoimmune diseases, was the main update. Moderna told investors its Horizon 3 programs may reach first-in-human trials by the end of 2027. The rally Friday came even though mRNA-6007 hasn’t cleared human proof yet.
Moderna’s chief scientific officer for therapeutics research, Lin Guey, called mRNA-6007 the “sentinel programme designed to unlock a scalable in vivo CAR-T modality,” speaking to attendees. She said in vivo CAR-T is “a scalable, controllable way to reset pathogenic B-cell immunity.” pharmaphorum
Moderna finished March holding $7.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, down from $8.1 billion at the end of last year. The company is projecting to have $4.5 billion to $5.0 billion in cash and investments by year-end 2026. For 2026, Moderna is also forecasting about $3.0 billion in research and development costs.
Flu may provide some support in the near term. U.S. FDA advisers gave unanimous backing to Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50 and up on June 18. The FDA is set to make a decision by Aug. 5. Citi’s Geoff Meacham said mFlusiva likely won’t generate much revenue before the second half of 2027, since Moderna missed the 2026 U.S. contracting window. Jefferies’ Andrew Tsai sees $750 million in U.S. Moderna flu shot and COVID-flu combo sales by 2030.
Shorter trading week ahead with next Friday off for Independence Day. Nasdaq’s normal schedule is Monday to Friday, but the exchange will be closed July 3, 2026, for the holiday.
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