Moderna Stock is Soaring. Is It Too Late to Buy?

Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) is best known for its coronavirus vaccine, a product that generated more than $18 billion in revenue at its peak in 2022 and helped drive the stock higher during the early days of the pandemic. In the years that followed, demand for the vaccine declined, and earnings and stock performance also tumbled.

But Moderna has been working to commercialize a broad range of infectious disease vaccines and advance oncology and rare disease candidates to spur a new phase of growth. And the company has cut costs to support these efforts.

All of this has helped the stock take off recently, soaring more than 70% since the start of the year. Is it too late to get in on this exciting biotech recovery story?

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Moderna's gains and losses

As mentioned, Moderna experienced significant growth in the early stages of the coronavirus crisis as it quickly commercialized and delivered a vaccine. This was the company's first and only product at the time, but it brought in tremendous levels of revenue. The problem was that when demand waned, so did interest in this biotech stock. Investors saw it as a coronavirus company -- but Moderna actually had and still has a significant pipeline of potential products. And they're based on the mRNA technology that powers the company's coronavirus vaccine.

This technology involves teaching the body to make a protein that will protect against or fight disease. Moderna, by winning approval of the coronavirus vaccine, proved that this method works.

Since that time, the company has earned the approval of and commercialized a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and a second coronavirus vaccine. Moderna also recently submitted a flu vaccine candidate to regulators, and if it wins a nod, it aims to launch the vaccine for the upcoming flu season.

A promising vaccine candidate

On top of this, Moderna has a broad pipeline of other potential products, including late-stage ones such as a promising cancer vaccine. A phase 3 adjuvant melanoma trial is fully enrolled, and the candidate is involved in a total of eight phase 2 or 3 trials across tumor types. Oncology could be a key growth area for Moderna in the years to come.

Of course, Moderna's return to growth won't happen overnight. The company reported full-year revenue of $1.9 billion for 2025 and a net loss of $2.8 billion on a GAAP basis. This is a far cry from the earnings levels we saw a few years ago.

Investors must be patient as candidates potentially reach the finish line in the coming years -- and then go on to progressively deliver growth.

So, is Moderna stock still a buy after climbing 70%? Though I'm optimistic about the biotech's path, I think the shares may have advanced too far too fast. It's not too late to buy Moderna, but I would wait for a dip before making the move.

Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Moderna. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.