Moderna’s 177% surge burns shorts in ‘painful’ US$5.5 billion loss
The firm’s stock price soars after it says its personalised cancer vaccine helps reduce the recurrence of melanoma in trial
Moderna's shares surged 177 percent on Wednesday after announcing that its personalized cancer vaccine, developed in partnership with Merck & Co, reduced melanoma recurrence in a late-stage trial. This sharp rise in stock price led to $5.5 billion in losses for short sellers who had bet against the company's continued decline. Matthew Unterman, managing director at S3 Partners, described the move as "exceptionally painful" for short sellers, stating it significantly alters the risk/reward for those maintaining a bearish position.
Moderna's stock had previously gained 114 percent this year due to investor optimism surrounding its flu vaccine, which could diversify the company away from its shrinking COVID-19 vaccine business. The company had faced four consecutive years of losses as demand for its COVID-19 shot diminished, pushing its stock nearly 94 percent below its 2021 peak.
Analysts praised the melanoma trial results, with Needham analyst Joseph Stringer calling it a "landmark win" that could transform Moderna's oncology franchise into a new growth driver. William Blair upgraded its rating to "outperform" from "market perform," highlighting Moderna's clear path to revenue diversification from its COVID business.
Short sellers faced potentially worse losses, as short interest had reached 20 percent of Moderna's float earlier in the year before falling to about 14 percent as traders covered their bearish bets.
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