Moderna May Need a Booster of its Own

At times dubbed a major disruptor in the biotech space, Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) saw its stock valuation soar throughout 2021. The COVID-19 vaccine producer’s mRNA technology was seen by investors as applicable to multiple illnesses, and the speculative buying pressure built up. Now, while shares have more or less come back to earth, some professionals have developed more neutral takes on the stock.  

Denoting its successes, yet remaining subdued on its outlook, is Joseph Stringer of Needham & Co., who detailed Moderna’s robust pipeline, abundant purchase agreements for its vaccine, and potential for inorganic growth. Despite all of these factors however, he argued that shares are “fully valued” and are not due for any considerable upside.  

Stringer rated the stock a Hold, and did not provide a price target.  

Despite its valuation, Moderna does have a vast array of upcoming products and innovations. The neutral analyst elaborated that the company has over “40 programs in development including respiratory vaccines (COVID, Flu, RSV, etc.), latent vaccines (CMV, EBV, HIV, etc.), and multiple programs across cancer vaccines, immuno-oncology, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and rare disease.” 

In regard to its thus far successful COVID-19 vaccine, the company may attempt to combine a variant specific booster with a Flu shot. Moreover, the company intends to continue progress on non-vaccine treatments for a multitude of illnesses.  

The $83.01 billion market cap biotech’s financials are in healthy order, as well. The firm recently raised its 2022 guidance from $17 to $18.5 billion, driven mostly by purchase agreements for its current high-profile vaccine.  

Although not everything can be projected perfectly. Just as is the trouble with other healthcare stocks benefitting similarly from the ongoing pandemic, COVID-19 remains highly unpredictable. The world is waiting patiently for the disease to become endemic, at which point Moderna’s future role is not yet clear.  

On TipRanks, MRNA has an analyst rating consensus of Hold, based on seven Buy, six Hold, and three Sell ratings. The average Moderna price target is $317.69, suggesting a possible 12-month upside of 55.18%. MRNA closed trading Friday at a price of $204.73 per share.  

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