Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) surged 57.27% before the market opened on Wednesday after its personalized cancer vaccine met two key endpoints in a phase 3 trial for melanoma, according to TechStock². The stock rose to $99.02 from $62.96 at Tuesday’s close, marking a new valuation of nearly $39.5 billion, a jump of around $14.4 billion in one day.

Clinical Trial Shows Promise in Melanoma Treatment

The trial, involving 1,137 patients with surgically removed stage IIB-IV melanoma and conducted in partnership with Merck & Co, as Inc. (NYSE:MRK), showed that the vaccine, called Intismeran, reduced recurrence and distant metastasis when combined with Merck’s Keytruda, compared to Keytruda alone. The treatment is customized to each patient based on tumor-specific mutations and includes up to 34 neoantigens to train T-cells against cancer, Patients received up to nine doses of the vaccine alongside Keytruda over a year.

At the 60.3-month mark, the risk of recurrence or death dropped by 49%, and the risk of distant metastasis or death fell by 59%, as the trial continues, with no survival data or risk factors yet released by the companies.

Market Reaction and Technical Analysis

Moderna’s stock saw even stronger movement before the official open, reaching as high as $116.88, a 86% increase, according to sharedeals.de — this added to a total gain of 120% since the recent low. The stock currently trades at $102.05, reaching the next resistance level. Technical indicators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and MACD were still catching up to the recent surge, suggesting a bullish crossover might close the week positively.

Analysts note that the RSI and MACD on a weekly chart previously showed sell signals, but the recent price movement has not yet been reflected in those indicators, limiting their current predictive power. The stock’s performance highlights the potential for mRNA-based cancer treatments to become a new growth area for Moderna in oncology.

Positive Momentum from Multiple Sources

In South Korea, TIKR.com reported that Moderna’s stock had risen for five consecutive days due to the release of data from the U.S, but Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicating that its flu vaccine, mFlusiva, may be effective for older adults. The FDA had previously rejected the vaccine but reversed its decision after Moderna agreed to revise its application, Jefferies analyst Andrew Tsai projected that flu and combination vaccines could generate $750 million in U.S. sales by 2030.

Moderna’s stock also benefited from strong investor sentiment in the broader biotech sector. 매일경제 마켓 reported that foreign investors contributed to a 26.56% rise in Moderna-related themes in South Korea, while institutions and individuals saw net outflows. In Germany, Der Aktionär highlighted that the stock had exploded by 433% from a previous level of $29.63, fulfilling a prediction made in a 2025 report. The report also advised selling half of the position to reinvest in a Fintech stock.