Why did Moderna stock rise today? Positive recommendations, approvals for COVID shot
Maddie Meyer

Shares of Cambridge, Mass.-based Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) on Thursday posted their best session in nearly a month after they closed 5.1% higher at $138.95. 
Investor sentiment for MRNA stock was helped by positive actions by three healthcare regulatory bodies: the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Health Canada and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A committee of the EMA recommended the approval of MRNA's Omicron BA.1 variant-targeting COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose for people aged 12 years and above, while Health Canada cleared the use of the shot in adults.
Later in the day, an advisory committee of the CDC recommended the use of MRNA's Omicron BA.4/5 subvariant-targeting COVID shot as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and older.
The actions from the regulatory bodies come a day after the U.S. FDA amended the emergency use approval for MRNA's vaccine to allow its use as a booster shot for protection against the BA.4/5 subvariants.
Shares of rival COVID vaccine maker Pfizer (PFE) and U.S.-listed shares of its German partner BioNTech (BNTX) also closed in the green, with gains of 3.1% and 2.2%, respectively.