Moderna, the American pharma company that became popular for its COVID vaccine, has spent three days trading like a meme stock. Shares exploded 177% on Wednesday after its personalized mRNA cancer vaccine with Merck succeeded in a Phase 3 melanoma trial, adding roughly $30 billion in market value in a single session. 

Heavy short covering helped turn a major clinical breakthrough into an extraordinary market move. Then came the whiplash. Moderna fell 23.6% on Thursday, before buyers rushed back on Friday. 

Even after the violent pullback and another volatile session, Moderna was still up more than 140% for the week. BeInCrypto analysts now looked at three other US stocks that could potentially have a similar setup. 

Intel (INTC) Fits the Mold, Minus the Squeeze

Moderna’s day began with a collapse and a recovery, and Intel has both, sinking to $21.81 before quadrupling to $92.80 in a year, even as chip leaders wobbled.

Its Q2 revenue grew 25.4%, the best in 15 years, and CEO Lip-Bu Tan just put $10 million into the stock at $95 per share.

The doubt matches too. Intel is rated Hold, with only 5 of 29 analysts rating it a Buy, though the $116.84 average forecast implies 26% upside.

The missing box is the squeeze, since Intel carries only 2.87% of its shares short and its put-to-call open interest, the standing money in options, sits dead even at 1.00.

The price chart is the other open box. An inverse head and shoulders has formed since mid-July, low at $81.88 and trigger near $107, while selling volume has faded since August 12, even as bond yields hammered chips.

A daily close above $106.91 projects 30% toward $139.60, and the 14A design kit reaching Apple this fall is its readout. Below $81.88, the ‘stocks like Moderna’ thesis fails.

Target (TGT) Is the Closest Match

Retail giant Target mirrors the template on a smaller scale. Its collapse was 67%, from above $250 in 2021 to an $83 low last November, and a Q2 beat lifted it just 4.28% to $159.

The doubt is the sharpest match in the piece. The $152.71 average forecast is 3.95% below the price, while 11 of 22 analysts rate it Hold, and the latest calls lean Hold or Sell.

Wall Street is grading a stock at fresh highs as if it were still broken, the defining trait of stocks like Moderna.

Bears are positioned too, with put-heavy options at 1.03 and 3.70% of shares short, because the rally has run on fading volume.

The price action stands on its own. Target has been climbing in an ascending channel since May 20, and a daily close above $161.96 reopens the channel’s upper line, where a breakout projects roughly 30%.

Supports wait at $151.41 and $144.89. However, the weakening volume and a drop below $134.35 can weaken the thesis.

Macy’s (M) Ticks Every Box, Some Only Halfway

Department store chain Macy’s (M) meets all five of Moderna’s conditions, with two only partially. It never suffered Moderna-style collapse, and its chart is the weakest here. Yet, it wears the two clearest markers: analyst disbelief and bearish positioning.

The $22.43 average forecast is 4.15% below the $23.40 price, with just 1 Buy rating among 8 analysts. JP Morgan’s $27 call sits among the Holds. Finally, it has the heaviest put lean of the three at 1.11, the nearest echo of Moderna’s loaded shorts.

The chart is the weakest of the three, but it just gave a reason for hope. Macy’s has held a rising channel since May 15, nearly lost it on August 16, and buyers defended the floor with the strongest buying volume since August 4.

Moderna’s own support at the $61.91 line held the same way before its readout, so a defended floor can spring a surprise.

Resistance for M sits at $23.93. Yet the bigger gate sits at $25.33, up about 8%. Only above $29.01 does the tone turn bullish. Below $23.06, the channel fails. Earnings land on September 10, so this catalyst is still ahead.

Analyst’s View: Target matches Moderna’s setup best, but its big news was the Q2 beat that landed this week, and the stock has already moved a bit. Intel and Macy’s still have their news ahead, a $107 close for one and the September 10 report for the other.

And that is where the remaining upside lies, because a stock can only jump on a surprise that has not yet happened. If Intel loses $81.88 or Macy’s loses $23.06 before then, the idea is off.

Source: BeInCrypto