Moderna (MRNA) stock has surged more than 20% this week after regulatory filings showed several executives — including Chief Executive Stephane Bancel — bought shares on the open market.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bancel purchased about 160,000 shares worth $5 million on Monday. The same day, board member Paul Sagan bought almost 32,000 shares at a value of roughly $1 million.
↑ X NOW PLAYING How To Buy Stocks: IBD's Four Pillars Of InvestingLast week, Chief Financial Officer Jamey Mock, Chief Legal Officer Shannon Klinger and President Stephen Hoge added to their Moderna stock holdings.
In response, Moderna stock jumped nearly 16% on Monday. In midday trades Friday, shares rallied again, adding another 10% to 37.78. Moderna stock is butting up against a ceiling at its 50-day moving average.
Other news around Moderna has been more mixed. This week, a German court ruled that Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) infringed on the company's Covid vaccine patent with their Covid shot, Comirnaty. But the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office deemed two of Moderna's vaccine patents are "unpatentable."
Also, on Friday, a bill banning messenger RNA vaccines in Iowa passed a subcommittee. Messenger RNA, or mRNA, is the molecule that carries instructions for making proteins. The Covid vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech hijack this mechanism to help the body create virus-blocking antibodies.
The Senate bill would prohibit health care providers from administering gene-based vaccines, including the mRNA-based Covid shots, with a fine of $500 for each violation. If it passes, the law would be a hit for Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech, but could bolster Novavax. Novavax makes the only Covid vaccine on the U.S. market that doesn't use the mRNA mechanism.
It's important to note, Moderna's respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, mResvia, also uses mRNA. This vaccine angles to prevent RSV, which causes coldlike symptoms in most people but can be serious or deadly in people with compromised immune systems. GSK (GSK) and Pfizer also make RSV vaccines. But theirs don't use the mRNA process.
Moderna is also working on an mRNA-based cancer vaccine in partnership with Merck.
Moderna stock has fallen precipitously over the last 10 months. Shares hit a recent peak at 170.47 last May. Today, they're about 78% off that point. Shares peaked near 500 in August 2021.
The company is also embroiled in years of losses. Moderna last notched profits in 2022. It's expected to become profitable again, on a strict, as-reported basis, in 2029, according to FactSet. Analysts also call for sales to bottom out this year at $2.16 billion before growing again in 2026.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X/Twitter at @AGatlin_IBD.
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