The U.S. government is giving pharmaceutical company Moderna (MRNA) $590 million in new money to accelerate development of a vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza, commonly known as “bird flu.”
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The administration of outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden allocated the money to help America prepare for a potential bird flu pandemic. The award is a large sum from the U.S. government, which previously awarded Moderna $176 million to fund development of a bird flu vaccine.
MRNA stock rose 4% on news of the new money. Washington, D.C.’s funding for Moderna’s mRNA bird flu vaccine now totals $766 million, which is close to the $995 million spent on the company’s Covid-19 vaccine in 2020. Analysts say the spending shows how seriously the government is taking a possible bird flu pandemic.
Rising Infection Rates
More than 100 million birds in domestic U.S. flocks, mostly egg-laying hens and turkeys being raised for meat, have died from bird flu since 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). There have also been 67 confirmed human cases of the disease in the U.S., and one death.
Government funding for a bird flu vaccine comes at an opportune time for Moderna, which has seen its sales drop-off sharply as the Covid-19 pandemic has waned. Moderna has said that it is preparing to advance a bird flu vaccine into a Phase 3 clinical trial, although the timeline has not been made public.
MRNA stock has declined 66% in the last 12 months.
Is MRNA Stock a Buy?
The stock of Moderna has a consensus Hold rating among 19 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on four Buy, 11 Hold, and four Sell recommendations issued in the last three months. The average MRNA price target of $59 implies 73.22% upside from current levels.
