Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) Down 4.6% — Time to Free Up Some Cash?
Key Points
Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) extended its retreat in the latest session, with the stock closing at $31.24, down 4.61% and losing $1.51 from the prior close of $32.75. The move keeps shares under clear pressure and pushes them further into the lower half of their 52-week range of $22.28 to $48.92. From the 52-week high of $48.92 set on Jan. 7, 2025, Moderna has now surrendered roughly 36% of its value, underscoring how much ground the stock has given up in a relatively short period. The current level leaves the stock much closer to its 52-week low than its recent peak, reinforcing a pattern of sliding prices and ongoing headwinds for shareholders.
Trading activity also points to waning interest. Volume came in at about 3.24 million shares, sharply below the 90-day average of roughly 11.13 million, suggesting this latest leg down unfolded on lighter participation. That combination of a notable percentage decline and muted trading can signal a market that is steadily backing away rather than aggressively stepping in to buy weakness. Within the broader biotechnology and pharmaceutical space, several peers such as Zoetis Inc. (ZTS), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALNY), Insmed Incorporated (INSM), BeOne Medicines AG (ONC), and Natera, Inc. (NTRA) have also seen periods of volatility, but Moderna’s sharp pullback from its recent high leaves it looking particularly under pressure in its corner of the sector.
Why Moderna, Inc. Price is Moving Lower
The recent downside in Moderna shares is being driven more by lingering fundamental concerns than by any specific headline shock. The sharp 7.48% drop on Dec. 23, followed by choppy trading around the low-$30s, points to investors selling into strength after a prior rebound. With the stock now hovering near the lower half of its 52‑week range and trading on a negative P/E, traders appear focused on profitability challenges and the durability of Moderna’s post‑pandemic revenue base rather than on incremental positives like CEPI funding for its bird flu candidate. The retreat in trading volume from nearly 12 million shares on Dec. 23 to about 3–4 million more recently also suggests waning buying conviction and a lack of fresh institutional sponsorship at current levels.
Fundamentally, caution is being reinforced by a difficult earnings profile. Despite a sharp quarter‑over‑quarter revenue jump to $973 million from $114 million, overall revenue growth remains deeply negative at -45.44%, signaling that the business is still adjusting from extraordinary COVID‑era demand to a more normalized vaccine market. A profit margin of -139.60% underscores how far the company remains from sustainable profitability, keeping pressure on valuation and sentiment. Against a backdrop of broader weakness across biotech and life sciences names such as Zoetis, Alnylam, Insmed, BeOne Medicines and Natera, investors are treating Moderna as part of a higher‑risk, longer‑duration growth cohort. In that environment, any rally has struggled to hold, and downside volatility has been met with more selling than dip‑buying, keeping the stock price under persistent pressure.
What is the Moderna, Inc. Rating - Should I Sell?
Weiss Ratings assigns MRNA an E rating. Current recommendation is Sell. The stock was downgraded on 5/7/2025, signaling a deterioration in its overall risk/reward profile. An E rating is our lowest tier and indicates that, after weighing all factors, downside risk meaningfully outweighs upside potential for investors at this time.
Several core components of the model point to structural weaknesses. The Weak Growth Index aligns with sharply contracting revenue, including a recent year-over-year decline of 45.44%. Profitability is deeply negative, with a profit margin of -139.60% and a negative forward P/E ratio of -4.06, feeding into a Very Weak Efficiency Index. This tells us management is currently generating poor returns on invested capital, and operational performance has not translated into shareholder value.
On the risk side, the Weak Volatility Index indicates that investors have been exposed to unfavorable price swings without sufficient compensation in terms of returns. That is captured directly in the Very Weak Total Return Index, which signals that shareholders have, on balance, been punished rather than rewarded for taking on this risk. While the Excellent Solvency Index shows the balance sheet is comparatively strong, that single strength has not been enough to offset persistent losses and weak market performance.
Within health care, Moderna, Inc. compares unfavorably even against already weak peers such as Zoetis Inc. (ZTS, D+), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALNY, D-), and Natera, Inc. (NTRA, D-). Those companies also face challenges, yet still earn higher ratings than MRNA. This relative underperformance reinforces the E (Sell) assessment and supports a cautious stance toward the stock.
About Moderna, Inc.
Moderna, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of messenger RNA (mRNA)–based therapeutics and vaccines. Operating within the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and life sciences industry, the company built its reputation around a single technology platform rather than a diversified portfolio across multiple therapeutic modalities. Its most prominent product is its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, which exposed the business to heavy dependence on a narrow set of indications and a limited product lineup. Beyond COVID-19, Moderna is pursuing a range of vaccine candidates targeting respiratory viruses, latent viruses and other infectious diseases, but many of these programs remain in various stages of clinical development and are subject to scientific, regulatory and competitive setbacks.
The company is also attempting to extend its mRNA platform into therapeutic areas such as oncology, rare diseases and cardiovascular conditions. These programs involve complex delivery challenges, stringent safety requirements and intense competition from more established modalities, including monoclonal antibodies, small molecules and cell therapies. Moderna’s commercialization infrastructure, manufacturing network and research engine are largely built around mRNA, which can be a structural weakness if the technology underperforms against alternative approaches or fails to deliver durable efficacy and safety across indications. In a crowded health care landscape dominated by large, diversified pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, Moderna’s concentrated platform strategy and reliance on advancing a relatively narrow pipeline leave it exposed to clinical, regulatory and competitive risks that can undermine the long-term defensibility of its business model.
Investor Outlook
With Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) carrying an E (Sell) Weiss Rating, the risk/reward profile remains unfavorable, warranting close attention to downside risk and any deterioration in key rating drivers such as total return and volatility. Investors may want to monitor whether the stock can hold recent support levels and how broader Health Care sector sentiment evolves, as improvements there could eventually influence future rating changes. See full rankings of all E-rated Health Care stocks inside the Weiss Stock Screener.
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