Moderna Begins HIV Vaccine Testing; Shares Jump

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) rose 1.9% in the extended trading session on Monday after jumping 8.6% at the close. The surge in the price followed the biotech company’s revelation that it has dosed the first participant in a clinical trial of an experimental human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) trimer mRNA vaccine (mRNA-1574). 

Clinical Trial Update 

The Phase 1 trial (HVTN 302) will test the safety and immunogenicity of experimental HIV trimer mRNA vaccines. It is designed to demonstrate these vaccines’ safety and tolerability in HIV-negative individuals to produce neutralizing antibodies to block the virus. Around 100 HIV-negative adults are likely to participate in the trial of the age bracket 18 to 55 years. 

According to a Moderna release, “HIV is the virus responsible for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a lifelong, progressive illness with no effective cure.” There are about 38 million global active cases of HIV positive individuals, with 1.2 million living in the U.S.

The trial is being funded by a unit of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Official Comments 

The President of Moderna, Stephen Hoge, said, “With the launch of our second HIV vaccine trial, we are advancing our strategy to utilize multiple mRNA encoded native-like HIV trimers and leverage the power of our mRNA platform to accelerate the discovery of a protective HIV vaccine.”  

Remarkably, Moderna is currently working on two HIV preventative vaccine strategies that are based on germline targeting and immune-focusing approaches. Along with the HIV trimer mRNA vaccine trial of mRNA-1574, the company has partnered in the testing of HIV vaccine antigens mRNA-1644 and mRNA-1644v2-Core. 

Wall Street’s Take 

Recently, Piper Sandler analyst Edward Tenthoff reiterated a Buy rating and a price target of $348 (131.89% upside potential) on Moderna. 

The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic about the stock, which has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on five Buys, eight Holds, and one Sell. The average Moderna price target of $242.60 implies 61.66% upside potential from current levels. Shares have gained 4.46% over the past year. 

Bloggers Weigh In  

Bloggers seem enthused by the company’s positive clinical development. TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 72% Bullish on MRNA, compared to a sector average of 69%.

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