If You Invested $1,000 In Moderna Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

Investors who have owned stocks in the last year have generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 SPY total return over the last 12 months is 47.1%. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.

Moderna’s Big Run: One company that has been a home-run investment in the last year has been biotech stock Moderna Inc. MRNA.

Almost all the headlines about Moderna in the past year have been about the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna began working on a vaccine candidate in March 2020, and its mRNA-1273 candidate demonstrated a 94% efficacy rate in November. Following the positive trial data, regulators gave Moderna the green light to distribute its vaccine in the U.S. and around the world.

In 2019, prior to the pandemic, Moderna reported an EPS loss of $1.55 on revenue of just $60 million. In 2020, that EPS loss widened to $1.96 during the vaccine development stage. However, Moderna’s revenue jumped to $803 million.

This year will be Moderna’s big year to start reaping the fruits of its vaccine labor. CFRA projects Moderna will report positive EPS of $29.59 in 2021 on revenue of $21.65 billion as it rolls out its vaccine worldwide. In the future, investors are hoping regulators will open the door for vaccinating children. In addition, annual booster shots could extend the window of Moderna’s COVID-19 tailwinds.

Related Link: If You Invested $1,000 In Pfizer Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

At the beginning of 2020, Moderna shares were trading at around $19.50. By the beginning of March, the stock was trading at $27 as news of the coronavirus spreading in China prompted concerns about a U.S. pandemic.

When the market crashed during the U.S. pandemic outbreak in March, Moderna shares understandably soared along with a handful of other companies that began working on developing vaccines to fight COVID-19. In fact, Moderna shares hit an all-time high of $56.38 in April before pulling back below $50 to finish out the month.

By July, Moderna shares were back up to $95.21 on vaccine optimism and positive initial research developments. However, the stock stalled there while Moderna and other competitors raced to win the vaccine testing and approval race.

Moderna shares jumped to $178.50 on massive volume in November when the company announced its COVID-19 vaccine was more than 94% effective in late-stage trials.

Moderna In 2021, Beyond: Moderna investors took the opportunity to take profits on the news, even when the FDA authorized the vaccine for distribution in December. In February, Moderna shares grinded as high as $198.26 before pulling back to $167.50 as of late April. Moderna shares got a bump earlier this month when the FDA placed a temporary halt to a competing vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson JNJ due to reports of extremely rare cases of blood clotting in women.

Moderna investors who bought one year ago and held on have generated a huge return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in Moderna stock bought on April 21, 2020, would be worth about $3,222 today.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting Moderna to drift higher once again in the next 12 months. The average price target among the 13 analysts covering the stock is $182, suggesting 8.7% upside from current levels.