Cancer therapy triggers nearly 285% surge, Moderna rises another 11% over two days

BlockBeats news, October 21 - Moderna (MRNA) has rebounded consecutively ahead of the release of key cancer therapy data. In the last two US stock trading days, it rose 4.07% and 6.69% respectively, with a cumulative gain of about 11.04%, closing at $242.08 and reaching an intraday high of $243.98. The corresponding contract on Hyperliquid is quoted at $241.07, up about 5.71% in 24 hours.

The key catalyst for this rebound comes from the imminent release of detailed Phase 3 data for intismeran autogene, a personalized mRNA cancer therapy jointly developed by Moderna and Merck. According to the company's schedule, at 22:30 Beijing time on October 24, the two parties will present the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 study results for high-risk melanoma at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, and hold an investor event at 01:00 on October 25.

This is a detailed verification that the market has been awaiting following previous positive results. The two companies announced on August 19 that the therapy combined with Keytruda met the primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and the key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). This weekend, investors will further assess the magnitude of specific benefits, safety, and reference significance for research on other cancer types.

Since the close on August 18, the trading day before the above positive results were announced, MRNA has cumulatively risen about 284.5%, and the stock price has largely reflected optimistic expectations for the cancer pipeline. Although the biotech sector has performed strongly overall, MRNA still fell 7.82% in a single day last Friday, and this week's two-day rebound also includes a recovery from the previous pullback.

Although Wall Street institutions continue to raise valuations, they have not unanimously chased the rally. Bank of America recently raised Moderna's target price from $200 to $220, maintaining a "Neutral" rating, and believes that the focus of the ESMO Congress is on the actual magnitude of benefit from the combination therapy and whether it can provide reference for subsequent research in kidney cancer, bladder cancer, and other areas. The raised target price of $220 is still about 9.1% below MRNA's latest closing price of $242.08.

As the stock price continues to approach highs, a short position worth about $4.52 million is on the verge of liquidation

According to TradingBeats monitoring, a whale starting with 0x4e23 is currently shorting about 18,700 MRNA shares with 10x isolated leverage, with a position value of about $4.518 million, an average entry price of $237.04, and a floating loss of about $75,500. The estimated liquidation price for this position is $248.37, only about 3.03% above the current mark price, a difference of about $7.30.

The individual currently has three regular limit buy orders placed between $235.48 and $236.48, totaling approximately 3,522.98 shares at $831,900, and factoring in transaction fees for a loss, plans to exit at break-even.