Moderna Stock Outlook: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) is a biotechnology company that provides messenger RNA medicines in the United States and internationally. The company has a market cap of $96.4 billion and offers respiratory vaccines including Spikevax, mNEXSPIKE, mRESVIA, COVID, RSV, seasonal influenza, combination, and pandemic influenza vaccines, latent vaccines, and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines, among others. 

Shares of Moderna have comfortably outperformed the broader market over the past year, surging 885% compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 8.2% surge. Moreover, in 2026, the stock has risen by nearly 712.7%, also outpacing the SPX’s 7.4% gain.     

Zooming in further, the State Street Healthcare Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) has risen 24.9% over the past year, lagging behind the stock. In 2026, XLV has surged 17.8% and has also underperformed the stock. 

On August 19, MRNA stock rocketed by an impressive 177% following its personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, developed with Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK), met key goals in a late-stage trial. The company’s new treatment, Intismeran, reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence and prevented tumors from spreading when combined with Merck's Keytruda, according to MRNA officials. Moreover, the company pointed out its first successful late-stage trial for an mRNA cancer vaccine, advancing its oncology pipeline further and marking a tremendous achievement in the history of the pharmaceutical industry. 

For the current year, which ends in December, analysts expect MRNA’s loss per share to rise 15.8% to $6.11 on a diluted basis. The company met or surpassed the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, which is impressive.     

Among the 23 analysts covering MRNA stock, the consensus is a “Hold.” That’s based on three “Strong Buy” ratings, 17 “Holds,” and three “Strong Sells.”

The configuration has grown bearish over the past month, with the stock now having three Strong Buy ratings, down from four a month ago. 

On Oct. 28, RBC Capital analyst Luca Issi maintained a “Hold” rating on Moderna stock and set a price target of $130. 

MRNA’s mean price target of $140.28 is below the current market price. Its Street-high target of $250 implies a 3.5% upside from current levels.

On the date of publication, Aritra Gangopadhyay did not directly have a position in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.