Moderna Stock Surges 175% After Cancer Therapy Breakthrough

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) has emerged as one of the top-performing stocks in the U.S. market, surging 174.98% in the third quarter of 2026. The dramatic rise was fueled by promising results from its combined therapy candidate for treating melanoma, the most common type of skin cancer. The company’s Intismeran Autogene, paired with Merck’s Keytruda, successfully met its primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and secondary target of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) in a late-stage clinical trial.

The trial marked the first positive readout combining an mRNA-based cancer treatment with individualized neoantigen therapy (INT), showing clinically meaningful improvements over Keytruda alone. This success opens a vast addressable market, as melanoma cases are expected to rise by 112,000 by the end of the year, with an estimated 8,500 deaths. In 2022, 330,000 cases were diagnosed globally, highlighting the therapy’s significant revenue potential.

In addition to its cancer therapy breakthrough, Moderna received FDA approval in August for its updated COVID-19 vaccines, Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE, for the 2026-2027 season. The new Spikevax formula is approved for individuals aged 6 months to 64 with underlying conditions and all adults 65 and older. mNEXSPIKE is approved for those 12 to 64 with high-risk conditions and all adults 65 and older. COVID-19 has claimed 7.1 million lives worldwide during the pandemic.

With Moderna set to join the Nasdaq-100 index on October 9, market analysts anticipate further stock price surges as institutional investors rebalance portfolios. The company will replace Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., which is merging with Paramount Skydance Corp. on October 6.