Moderna jumped 177% to $174.38 on its cancer-vaccine win. Will the stock close above $150 on Aug 25?

Moderna shares surged 177% to $174.38 on August 19, 2026, after the company and partner Merck announced that their investigational personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene (mRNA-4157/V940), combined with Merck's Keytruda (pembrolizumab), met its primary endpoints in the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial. The regimen cut the risk of recurrence or death by 49% versus Keytruda alone in more than 1,100 patients with surgically resected, high-risk stage IIB-IV melanoma, marking the first positive Phase 3 result for an mRNA-based cancer therapy and for an individualized neoantigen vaccine; Merck shares also rose double digits on the news. The rally briefly pushed Moderna's market value sharply higher before a multi-day pullback, including a roughly 20-25% single-session drop, as investors reassessed the commercial and competitive outlook for the therapy. By August 25, shares had stabilized well above the pre-announcement level, trading and closing above the $150 threshold used to resolve the question. The Merck-partnered oncology program has become central to Moderna's post-pandemic pivot away from reliance on COVID-19 vaccine revenue, and the stock remained highly volatile through 2026 as investors digested the trial data. The market's 88% Yes majority proved correct: Moderna closed above $150 on August 25, 2026.