Moderna received millions in funding for coronavirus vaccine
Gilead Sciences (GILD) isn't the only one making headlines today in regards to COVID-19. Shares of Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) are soaring, after the company received a $483 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to accelerate the development of its coronavirus vaccine. Following the news, Piper Sandler raised its price target to $57 from $34. At last check, Moderna is up 14.4% to trade at $46.46, earlier hitting a fresh record high of $49.
MRNA stock has been on the rise following a slew of vaccine news and announcements since the start of the pandemic. Support from its 20-day moving average has also contributed to today's impressive bull gap, leading the way to the equity's now 138% year-to-date gain.
Analysts are bullish coming into today, with seven out of eight analysts in coverage sporting a "strong buy" or "buy" rating, with the remaining considering a "hold." Furthermore, Moderna stock has long-since surpassed its 12-month consensus target price of $39.89.
Digging deeper, short interest has surged 17.4% in the last two reporting periods, and now makes up 23.66 million shares. This accounts for 11.9% of the stock's available float, and would take almost two days for shorts to buy back their bearish bets, at the stock's average pace of trading.