Moderna cools as Chardan Capital downgrades after 20% rally
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Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares fell ~2% in the morning hours Wednesday as Chardan Capital Markets downgraded it to Neutral from Buy, noting that the company's share price "caught up" with the firm's valuation following a 20% rally.
Moderna (MRNA) shares surged Tuesday, triggering similar gains in its rivals focused on messenger-RNA-based cancer vaccines in reaction to positive mid-stage data for its personalized mRNA cancer vaccine in combination with Merck's (MRK) immunotherapy Keytruda.
The randomized trial involving patients with skin cancer melanoma indicated that the therapeutic combination cut the risk of cancer recurrence or death by 44% versus Keytruda alone.
"All of that said, with the market's enthusiastic reception of the data, share price has caught up with our valuation," Chardan analyst Geulah Livshits wrote.
However, Livshits remains positive on the prospects of mRNA technology in infectious disease vaccines and its applications in oncology, autoimmune, and rare disease.
Citing updated estimates for the company's oncology franchise, Chardan raises the price target on Moderna (MRNA) to $191 from $186 per share.
Yet, the analyst issues a Neutral rating on Moderna (MRNA) subject to further clarity on the company's oncology strategy and updates on its COVID, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus programs.
Ahead of the data readout for its cancer vaccine, Moderna (MRNA) shares fell after its rival in the COVID vaccine space, Pfizer (PFE), projected that its mRNA vaccine franchise could cater to a $10Bâ$15B commercial market opportunity by 2030.