What Happened?
Shares of biotechnology company Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) fell 12.5% in the morning session after Peter Marks, the head of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), resigned on Friday, 28 March 2025. Marks noted his departure was related to "misinformation and lies" around immunization and raised concerns about the Trump administration's ability to "swiftly approve critical vaccines."
His resignation raised concerns on Wall Street, with some analysts viewing his exit as a setback for companies like Moderna.
Evan David Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, described the move as a "significant negative" for the broader biotech and biopharma sectors, reflecting concerns about potential regulatory uncertainty ahead.
The shares closed the day at $28.33, down 9.1% from previous close.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Moderna? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What The Market Is Telling Us
Moderna’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 44 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Moderna and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was about 1 month ago when the stock gained 11.8% as the stock continued to build on the gains from the previous week when it reported strong fourth-quarter 2024 financial results. Despite this, Barclays seemed to be exercising caution, downgrading the stock to equal weight from overweight. The firm cited "policy risks, fewer clinical catalysts, and broader economic uncertainties that could limit its upside."
Moderna is down 32.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $28.48 per share, it is trading 82.9% below its 52-week high of $166.61 from May 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Moderna’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $950.86.
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