TLDR
- Moderna stock jumped 13% to $67.50, heading for its highest close since September 2024
- The company announced its first in vivo CAR-T program, mRNA-6007, targeting autoimmune diseases like lupus
- Clinical development of mRNA-6007 is planned to begin in 2027
- Analyst Andrew Tsai (Jefferies) raised his price target to $53 from $45; Piper Sandler raised theirs to $77 from $69
- Moderna has more than doubled in value year-to-date on growing optimism around its post-COVID pipeline
Moderna (MRNA) surged 13% to $67.50 on Friday, making it the best performer in the S&P 500 for the session. The move puts the stock on track for its highest close since September 2024.
The catalyst was the company’s investor day, held Thursday, where Moderna laid out an ambitious roadmap for expanding beyond its COVID-19 vaccine roots.
The headline announcement was Moderna’s first in vivo CAR-T program, dubbed mRNA-6007. It’s a new approach that genetically engineers T-cells inside the patient’s body rather than in a lab. That makes it cheaper and faster to deploy than traditional ex vivo CAR-T therapy.
Moderna said it plans to start clinical development of mRNA-6007 in 2027. The initial target will be B-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, with systemic lupus erythematosus — a condition where the immune system attacks healthy tissue — as the lead focus.
This puts Moderna in territory that other major drugmakers are also eyeing. Eli Lilly (LLY), which gained 6% on Friday for its own reasons, earlier this year agreed to acquire Orna Therapeutics specifically to get its hands on a lead in vivo CAR-T platform.
Pipeline Expanding Fast
Beyond CAR-T, Moderna outlined its pipeline in three “horizons.” The first covers late-stage candidates and current commercial products. The second and third extend into newer programs across oncology, respiratory disease, and rare conditions.
Jefferies analyst Andrew Tsai said the early-stage oncology work “can meaningfully diversify the mRNA pipeline.” He called out T-cell engagers targeting multiple myeloma and ovarian cancer as assets worth watching.
Tsai raised his price target from $45 to $53, though he kept his Hold rating. For him, the bigger near-term event isn’t CAR-T — it’s Phase III melanoma data expected in the second half of 2026, which he called “a major event” for the stock.
Piper Sandler’s Edward Tenthoff was more upbeat. He raised his price target from $69 to $77 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing the overall progress shown at the investor day.
Post-COVID Pivot Taking Shape
Moderna’s commercial profile today is still largely built on three vaccines. But Jefferies analyst Tsai believes that could grow to more than seven products across multiple disease categories within the next two years.
That would be a dramatic shift from 2020, when Moderna had just one product on the market: the Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine.
Moderna stock has more than doubled year-to-date as investor confidence builds around this transition. The melanoma program, being co-developed with Merck, has been a key driver of that optimism.
Friday’s investor day added fuel to that fire, with the CAR-T announcement landing as the surprise of the event.
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