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Moderna (MRNA) shares climbed 5.3% on Friday, November 6, 2026, outpacing a 0.3% gain for the S&P 500. The advance coincided with the release of third-quarter results and a raised 2026 revenue outlook from the company, although two of its five peers posted similar gains. How big was the quarter, and how far did Moderna lift its outlook?
Moderna Turned A Quarterly Profit And Raised Its Outlook
Moderna reported third-quarter revenue of $1.3 billion, comfortably clearing the $890.3 million analysts had expected. Management attributed the 29% increase from a year earlier mainly to higher COVID sales. The company also turned a profit, earning $0.38 a share on a reported basis, where analysts had projected an adjusted loss of $1.10 a share. Because the two figures use different measures, they do not compare directly. A year earlier, the company lost $0.51 a share.
Management raised its outlook in the same report. The company now expects 2026 revenue to grow 15% to 25%, up from previous guidance of up to 10% growth, citing the strong start to the vaccination season and what it can already see of the fourth quarter. Sales outside the U.S. stood out: at $900 million so far in 2026, they are already $200 million ahead of the total for all of 2025.
Moderna also plans to spend less. Management cut the 2026 R&D budget by $200 million, lowering it to $2.7 billion because more studies are winding down. On the same day, GSK and Moderna settled a patent dispute over Moderna's COVID and RSV shots.
Did Other Health Care Stocks Rise With Moderna?
Mostly not. The health care sector fund , XLV, slipped 0.1% during the same session, so Moderna's gain did not arrive alongside health care stocks as a whole. Three of its five peers, Pfizer, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Sarepta Therapeutics, moved less than 2% in either direction. The remaining two, Aspen Neuroscience and aTyr Pharma, rose about as much as Moderna, climbing 5.8% and 5.3%.
How Far Has Moderna Stock Come In A Year?
A gain of this size is not rare for Moderna. The stock recorded a rise at least this large in 36 sessions over the prior 365 days. Trading in the immediate run-up swung both ways, rising 13.1% on November 4 before falling 6.5% on November 5.
Over the past twelve months, the stock returned 978.9%, compared with 9.8% for the S&P 500. Shares closed at $254.19, settling just below the 52-week closing high of $258.38 set on November 4. Its lowest close of the past 52 weeks was $22.36, recorded on November 20, 2025.
The bulk of that climb occurred over the past three months, a period when the stock returned 325.0%. The path has not run one way: that stretch included the largest one-day move of the year, a 177% jump on August 19, 2026, followed by a 24% fall the next day. The jump came on positive Phase 3 trial results for the cancer vaccine Moderna is developing with Merck.
A 177% jump, then a 24% drop a day later. Build a plan that works either way .
Full-year 2026 revenue growth, measured against the outlook Moderna raised on November 6, will be the figure to watch when the company reports its fourth-quarter results, expected in February 2027.
Does This Mean You Should Act On MRNA?
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