How to buy Moderna (MRNA) shares from Australia

Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) is a commercial-stage pharmaceutical biotechnology company founded in 2010 that went public in 2018. It is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States.

This guide will take you through the entire process of buying Moderna shares from Australia.

By early 2021, Moderna had 24 mRNA development programs in the pipeline with 13 in clinical trials. Its therapeutics cover a range of areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease and rare genetic diseases.

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine using mRNA technology received emergency use authorisation (EUA) in the United States in December 2020.

Moderna subsidiaries include Elpidera, ModernaTX and Valera.

Step 1: Select a broker

Find an online broker that allows you to access the US markets. There are many options that you can access from Australia. Next, consider the features that you want from a broker.

Listed below are some features you should consider:

Commission-free trading

This feature is offered by many platforms that offer access to US stocks. You can save money on share trading by not paying commissions.

Fractional share investment

Fractional share investment means that you can buy a portion of a share, rather than the entire thing. This is something you might consider because Moderna shares can be expensive.

Simple design

It doesn't have to be difficult to trade shares. Make sure you choose a platform that is easy to use. New investors can benefit from educational guides and the ability to open a demo account.

Research reports

A platform with a strong research and reporting section will provide you with important information about Moderna such as company overview, price history and recommendations, and forecasts.

Step 2: Fund your account

To buy Moderna shares, you will need to fund the account. Keep in mind that your funds may take some time to clear, meaning it is unlikely you will be able to trade shares today.

Step 3: Set your budget

It might be a good idea to start with fractional shares as a first step. You can also make a profit regardless of shares dropping, as you can buy in at the average share price.

Step 4: Decide whether to buy shares or invest in an ETF

It is important to understand that an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) can be either a share or an investment in a share. While an ETF can be more diverse than a stock, it is still safer than investing in a stock that is already active.

ETFs with exposure to Moderna include iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB), Invesco Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (SBIO), and ProShares Ultra NASDAQ Biotechnology (BIB).

Step 5: Customise your order

You can choose from a variety of order types to customise when and how much you want to buy each share. Here are some of the most popular order types.

Market order

Market orders are orders that can be purchased or sold at the current market price. However, the price that you are looking for may not match the one you receive. You may order Moderna stock at US$210. The price of the Moderna stock may drop to US$207 or rise to US$215 by the time that the trade is executed.

Limit order

Execution-only orders for buy limit orders are executed at the price quoted or less. You may wish to buy Moderna shares at US$420 per share. You can submit a limit order for this amount. It will only be fulfilled if the Moderna share prices fall below US$420.

Stop limit

This type of order allows you to sell your shares at a certain price if the share price starts dropping. Let's suppose you want to sell your Moderna shares if the price falls to US$422 per share. Your stop limit order is executed if the shares drop to this price.

Stop loss

Another mechanism aimed at preventing you from taking a hit on your shares if the price drops. You nominate a price at which you want to sell your Moderna shares - say US$420 per share. Your stop-loss order will be executed if the price falls to that level but your order will be filled at the next available market price.

Step 6: Buy your shares

After you've chosen a broker and decided how you want to invest, you can place your order through that broker.

A share investment needs to be followed up with watching company performance and share price movements.

Share price trends and company performance

This is important whether you are buying shares with the goal of holding them long term or for speculative purposes.

Moderna’s competitors

Moderna benefited from becoming one of the dominant coronavirus vaccines to receive EUA. But the Covid vaccination story continues to play out, with booster shots, child vaccinations and rates of effectiveness all ongoing factors for vaccine producers.

In the COVID vaccine arena Moderna's competitors are Pfizer (NASDAQ: PFE) / BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX), AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). Other Moderna competitors include Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN), Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), and Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN).