How Much A $1,000 Investment In Moderna Stock At the Time Of COVID-19 Vaccine Authorization Would Be Worth Today - Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna, Inc. MRNA shares have been on a stellar run in recent sessions amid COVID-19 induced momentum.

he stock picked up further momentum after Standard & Poor's announced the inclusion of the vaccine maker in the S&P 500 Index.

Pandemic Translates To Opportunity For Moderna: Moderna, with its accent on messenger RNA technology, smelled an opportunity at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in China in late 2019 and spread to the rest of the globe in early 2020.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech lost no time, as it quickly set about working, along with the NIH, on an mRNA vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

The progress was swift given the dire need of a vaccine to get the struggling economies back on track. As opposed to the 10-15-year timeframe required to develop a vaccine, Moderna worked on fast tracking development and testing.

The company was supported in its efforts by U.S. federal agencies, which reportedly provided funding in excess of $2 billion.

Moderna's Vaccine Program Comes To Fruition: Moderna's progress through the clinical and preclinical trials was almost smooth.

The company did face a delay in enrolling the targeted population in a 30,000-strong late-stage study.

By late November, Moderna had in hand positive data from the large-scale study, with vaccine efficacy at 94.1% — a number that more than supported authorization of the vaccine for emergency use. After an Adcom review, the FDA authorized the vaccine Dec. 18.

Moderna had by then put in place manufacturing partnerships to supply the vaccine. The company also struck vaccine supply deals with several governments.

The topline swelled in the first quarter, the first full quarter of vaccine sales, to $1.7 billion, and along with this number, Moderna has in hand advance purchase agreements for $19.2 billion worth in vaccines.

Moderna's Post-Authorization Gains: Moderna shares, which rallied in the run up to emergency use authorization, ended Dec. 18 at $140.23. The stock came under pressure after the authorization amid profit taking and ended the year at $104.47.

After being rangebound between $104-$184 until late May, the stock legged up, but the real acceleration came in mid July The stock is in record terrain thanks to the strong rally.

Moderna's shares have been added to the S&P 500 Index effective Wednesday.

$1,000 invested in Moderna ahead of the authorization of the company's COVID-19 vaccine would have fetched seven shares. At today's intraday high of $318.88, the investment would be worth $2,232.16, a 123% gain in a seven-month investment timeframe.

In the same time period, the S&P 500 returned about 17.4%.

MRNA Price Action: At last check, Moderna shares were up 4.48% at $321.11.

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