Key Takeaways

• Moderna shares surged Friday, a day after a senior executive made bullish comments at a healthcare conference about the vaccine maker's pipeline and cash position.

• Moderna stock is down almost 60% this year, however, and—like other vaccine makers—was hit recently by President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

• On Friday, though, the shares were among the S&P 500's top gainers.

Moderna (MRNA) shares surged Friday, a day after a senior executive made bullish comments at a healthcare conference about the vaccine maker's pipeline and cash position.

Moderna shares recently were up 7% Friday afternoon and have added 11% in the last two sessions. Still, Moderna shares are down almost 60% this year amid waning demand for COVID-19 vaccines.

Moderna head of investor relations Lavina Talukdar said at the Jefferies London Healthcare Conference on Thursday that the Cambridge, Mass.-based company sees 2028 as the year by which its revenue can sustain its business.

"We expect to end the year with $9 billion in cash," Talukdar said, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense. "Our investment rate ... is declining each year going forward. And we anticipate that $9 billion will have us launching 10 products over the next three years that will start to contribute to revenue a year after approval."

Moderna Exec Downplays RFK Jr. Nomination To Be HHS Head

Talukdar downplayed the nomination of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by President-elect Donald Trump, which had hammered pharma companies like Moderna, Pfizer (PFE) and Eli Lilly (LLY) last Friday.

"If you listen to where his stance is on vaccines most recently, so starting— dating from 2022 and as recently as shortly after the election results, he is a lot more moderate than I would have thought," she said.

Moderna Recently Swung To Surprise Q3 Profit

Earlier this month, the company swung to a surprise profit and topped revenue estimates for the third quarter following the launch earlier this year of its updated COVID-19 vaccine.

In September, the company said it was launching a plan to cut its research and development (R&D) budget by $1.1 billion over the next three years as it focuses on getting 10 products like cancer treatments and vaccines for several respiratory illnesses approved by the Food and Drug Administration.