Vaccine stocks in red, Moderna Chair says COVID pandemic could move into endemic phase in 2022
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COVID-19 vaccine makers' shares edge lower in premarket trading, with Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) leading the losses, down 10.4%, after falling nearly 14% Thursday.
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) is down 5.6% at $198.50. The mRNA vaccine maker's co-founder Noubar Afeyan said COVID pandemic may shift to endemic in 2022.

â2022 may be the year that the pandemic enters an endemic phase, but it really depends on what happens and the decisions that are made across the world,â Afeyan said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
Modernaâs Omicron-specific booster shot could enter into human trials within weeks, he said, reiterating comments CEO Stephane Bancel made earlier this week.
âWe will be ready with our testing starting in weeks,â Afeyan said. âWhether we need a booster rather in the spring than the fall is something that weâre going to have to work with officials all around the world to sort out.â
Shares of BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) also fell 4.9% premarket with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)
down 1.6%.
PFE got a new Street-high price target from BMO Capital Markets (Outperform), as analyst Evan Seigerman boosted the PT to $76 from $60.
Pfizer could be the first pharma company to break $100B revenues boosted by Paxlovid sales this year, the analyst says in a research note.
Seigerman adds that he estimates Paxlovid generating $30B in sales this year vs. consensus of $20B, stating that Pfizer should have the ability to use this cash flow to navigate the loss-of-exclusivity concerns.
The vaccine stocks extends yesterday's decline after Supreme Court blocked COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses.