-1.25% to $200.10 from $202.63
What moved MRNA
- Shares fell further after a partial leak of Phase 3 results for Moderna and Merck’s personalized melanoma vaccine briefly appeared on an oncology website ahead of its scheduled presentation at the ESMO Congress.
- The leaked data showed the vaccine combined with Merck’s Keytruda cut the risk of recurrence or death by 42% versus Keytruda alone, a hazard ratio of 0.58 that fell short of the sub-0.60 level some analysts had hoped for after an earlier Phase 2 readout of 0.51.
- Moderna shares had nearly quadrupled since August on optimism tied to earlier vaccine data, and analysts attributed much of the prior session’s roughly $20 billion market-value decline to those elevated expectations rather than to weak underlying data.
- Citigroup had downgraded Moderna ahead of the leak, calling its valuation ‘unjustifiable.’
- Merck shares also declined on the news.
Sources: Bloomberg · Forbes
+14.21% to $225.00 from $197.00
What moved MRNA
- Moderna officially rejoined the Nasdaq-100 index before Friday’s market open, replacing Warner Bros. Discovery, which exited the index following its merger with Paramount Skydance.
- Shares climbed as funds that track the Nasdaq-100 were required to add the stock to their portfolios.
- The rally into inclusion was supported by strong third-quarter results and encouraging late-stage trial data for a cancer vaccine being developed with Merck’s Keytruda.
- Moderna had been dropped from the Nasdaq-100 in late 2024 before its share-price recovery earned it a return to the index.
Sources: Nasdaq · Yahoo Finance · TradingPedia · StreetInsider
-7.75% to $187.46 from $203.21
What moved MRNA
- Moderna and Novavax shares fell after a World Health Organization spokesperson told reporters the risk of a plague epidemic was “low,” following the death of a worker at a Russian anti-plague laboratory.
- The decline unwound part of the prior session’s rally, when Moderna shares had jumped on speculation about possible government vaccine purchases tied to the plague scare.
- Even after the pullback, Moderna remained more than 130% higher over the prior three months.
Sources: Yahoo Finance · 24/7 Wall St.
-5.35% to $192.57 from $203.46
What moved MRNA
- Citi analyst Geoff Meacham downgraded Moderna to Sell while raising his price target to $80 from $60, still implying steep downside from the stock’s recent level.
- Rothschild & Co Redburn also downgraded Moderna to Sell from Neutral.
- Citi said the stock’s valuation requires oncology sales far beyond what its models project, even assuming full success for lead cancer program intismeran autogene.
- The stock had rallied more than 220% since mid-August after positive late-stage trial results for its personalized cancer vaccine.
- Shares fell about 7% following the downgrades.
Sources: CNBC · Invezz
+5.56% to $182.56 from $172.94
What moved MRNA
- Moderna and Merck presented Phase 3 results from the INTerpath-001 trial showing that pairing Moderna’s individualized cancer vaccine intismeran autogene with Merck’s Keytruda produced markedly better outcomes than Keytruda alone in high-risk melanoma patients, described as the first Phase 3 success for a personalized neoantigen vaccine.
- Moderna said three abstracts on intismeran autogene were accepted for presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2026.
- The advance builds on the FDA’s approval of Moderna’s updated 2026-2027 Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 shots and clearance of its influenza vaccine mFLUSIVA.
- Argus upgraded Moderna’s rating, citing the company’s five approved mRNA products spanning COVID-19, combination flu/COVID-19, RSV and influenza.
Sources: Benzinga · Yahoo Finance · StocksToTrade · 24/7 Wall St.
-4.60% to $142.77 from $149.66
What moved MRNA
- Moderna announced a private placement of $2.0 billion in convertible senior notes due 2032, plus up to $300 million in initial purchaser options, sparking investor concern over potential share dilution and expanded long-term liabilities.
- Separately, the FDA approved supplemental Biologics License Applications for the 2026-2027 formulas of Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE.
- The notes offering follows a sharp rise in Moderna shares earlier in the month after Phase 3 mRNA cancer vaccine data from its collaboration with Merck.
Sources: TradingKey · Barchart
+176.97% to $174.38 from $62.96
What moved MRNA
- The Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial enrolled 1,137 patients with surgically removed high-risk melanoma, testing the personalized vaccine (intismeran autogene) plus Merck’s Keytruda against Keytruda alone.
- The trial met its primary goal of reducing cancer recurrence and its secondary goal of preventing the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body.
- It marks the first positive Phase 3 result ever recorded for an individualized neoantigen therapy and for any mRNA-based cancer treatment.
- Earlier-stage data on the same combination had shown a 49% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death and a 59% reduction in the risk of distant metastasis or death versus Keytruda alone.
- The companies plan to begin discussions with regulators over the coming months about the treatment’s approval pathway.
- Moderna’s rally also lifted other vaccine and biotech peers, including Novavax and BioNTech.
Sources: CNBC · STAT News · Reuters
+9.86% to $59.17 from $53.86
What moved MRNA
- The FDA approved Moderna’s mFlusiva, the first flu vaccine made using mRNA technology, for adults age 50 and older.
- The agency granted standard approval for ages 50-64 and accelerated approval for those 65 and older, contingent on a postmarketing study spanning two flu seasons.
- In a late-stage trial, the vaccine was found to be about 27% more effective than a standard flu shot, with no new safety signals identified.
- Moderna expects mFlusiva to be available in the U.S. for the 2026-2027 flu season.
Sources: STAT News · MedCity News · NBC News · NPR
-4.26% to $53.86 from $56.26
What moved MRNA
- The FDA approved Moderna’s mFLUSIVA, the first mRNA-based influenza vaccine in the U.S., for adults 50 years and older.
- Approval for the 65-and-older age group is conditional on Moderna conducting an additional clinical trial.
- In trials the vaccine was about 27% more effective than a standard flu shot, and Moderna said it will be available this fall.
Sources: BioSpace · AJMC