We reviewed the charts of Moderna (MRNA) back on February 26th and our Point and Figure chart projected an upside target of $53. MRNA has been soaring since late Thursday on news it will receive up to $483 million from the U.S. government to accelerate development of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Moderna plans to begin a Phase 2 study in Q2 and start Phase 3 testing as early as fall 2020.
Let's check out the charts again this morning ahead of the market opening.
In this daily bar chart of MRNA, below, we can see how prices have continued their rally from early August. MRNA is above the rising 50-day moving average line and the rising 200-day moving average line. Dips to and below the 50-day line have turned out to be buying opportunities.
The daily On-Balance-Volume (OBV) shows a rising pattern the past 12 months, telling us that buyers have been more aggressive for a long time now and not just the past few weeks leading up to this company news.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator has been above the zero line for much of the time since September and is still pointed upwards.
In this limited weekly bar chart of MRNA, below, we can see a bullish picture with prices above the rising 40-week moving average line, and a rising weekly OBV line and a bullish MACD oscillator.
In this first Point and Figure chart of MRNA, below, we used daily price data and here a price target of $45 is indicated. MRNA is likely to exceed this level in early trading Friday.
In this second Point and Figure chart of MRNA, below, we used weekly price data and a traditional even dollar increment for scaling. Here the software projects a longer-term price target of around $71.
Bottom line strategy: MRNA is likely to gap higher today. Longs should raise sell stop protection to at least $32. $53 and $71 are our potential price targets now.