Moderna Sinks 5% On Covid-19 Vaccine Delay Reports

Shares in biotech Moderna (MRNA) fell 5% in Thursday’s trading following reports of delays in its key Covid-19 vaccine trial for mRNA-1273. According to Stat News, a 30,000-Phase 3 patient trial, expected to start on July 9, has been delayed due to protocol changes. If true, this could impair Moderna’s goal to release critical data by Thanksgiving.

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“My understanding was that they wanted to get the first vaccines given in July, and they say they’re still committed to do that,” one investigator told Stat News. “As best I can tell, they’re close to being on target for that.”

Moderna also responded via Twitter on Thursday, saying that it has “worked closely” with the National Institutes of Health, which is funding the study, “to align the final protocol in order to begin the trial on time.”

According to the Twitter statement, the trial is still expected to begin in July- and the company still intends “to be the first to start a Phase 3 trial.”

Shares in Moderna have exploded 200% year-to-date, and analysts have a bullish Strong Buy consensus on the stock’s outlook. That’s with an average analyst price target of $87 which suggests 49% upside potential still lies ahead. (See Moderna stock analysis on TipRanks).

Needham analyst Alan Carr is not concerned about the number of rival Covid-19 vaccines in development, arguing “The pool of credible vaccine candidates for COVID-19 continues to grow, but we believe there will be a need for multiple products.” For instance, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and BioNTech SE (BNTX) have just disclosed early “positive” data from an ongoing study of BNT162b1, one of its potential coronavirus vaccine candidates.

Carr has a buy rating and $94 price target on Moderna, indicating 60% upside potential from current levels. “Our favorable view towards the stock is primarily driven by the mRNA platform and its potential to generate differentiated products in the long-term” he told investors.