Buy, Sell or Avoid Moderna After the Earnings? Here's the Chart

Like many other stocks on Thursday, Moderna  (MRNA) - Get Report shares are lower after the vaccine producer reported earnings.

But down 2.5% on the day is much better than the earlier action. Moderna opened 9.1% lower and fell almost 12% before finding its footing and climbing back.

Obviously, Moderna remains in the spotlight as the world continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

By using a combination of Moderna and Pfizer  (PFE) - Get Report-BioNTech  (BNTX) - Get Report, the U.S. has done a good job garnering momentum in its vaccination efforts.

Johnson & Johnson  (JNJ) - Get Report has also played a role, despite those initial scares over a blood clot issue.

For Moderna’s part, the company missed revenue expectations, although it raised its vaccine sales outlook. 

The idea that further booster shots will be needed to fight Covid-19 has also been acting as a catalyst for this group.

Let’s look at the chart.

Trading Moderna Stock

Moderna opened right near a cluster of support on Thursday morning. That includes the 50-day and 21-week moving averages, as well as the 61.8% retracement.

The shares faded a bit below this area in early trading, but the stock found its footing before testing into uptrend support (blue line).

What can we make of this price action?

Unlike high-growth tech stocks that are being ravaged in a bear market, Moderna is finding buyers. Look at Fastly  (FSLY) - Get Report for instance, which is getting buried on the day.

Buy-the-dip traders are stepping into Moderna stock, which is promising. But how high can it really rally here?

We need to see the stock clear its 21-day moving average. Over the 10-day would be a nice boost, too. Above that opens the door to the December high at $178.50

If Moderna stock can clear that level, it opens the door to the double-top high near $189.

The concern here would be a breakdown below the post-earnings low. That would drop Moderna below several key moving averages and levels, while putting uptrend support in play.

Below $140 opens the door to $120 and potentially lower.

Moderna is a tricky one. The stock has already posted a big rally, but as Covid-19 continues to linger, it remains an obvious catalyst for it and other pharma companies, like Pfizer. Keep the technicals in mind moving forward.