Moderna (MRNA) Stock Pops 13% on Hopes for Bird Flu Vaccine

Shares of Moderna (MRNA) are up 13% on hopes that the vaccine maker will develop a treatment for bird flu, which has begun to infect humans and raised concerns about another pandemic.

Shares of MRNA stock are rising a day after the first bird-flu death was reported in the U.S. Boston-based Moderna is in the process of developing a vaccine against bird flu, which is known in medical and scientific circles as the disease H5N1 or avian influenza.

To date, there have been 67 confirmed human cases of bird flu in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bird flu has devastated live stock across America. Nearly 101 million birds in domestic U.S. flocks, mostly egg-laying hens and turkeys, have died from bird flu since 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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Bird flu has also spread to cattle herds in the U.S. In all, the virus has been confirmed in 296 cattle herds across 14 states. The rapid spread of H5N1 across species has raised concerns that it could lead to another global pandemic just five years after Covid-19 brought the world to a virtual standstill.

In July 2024, Moderna was awarded a $176 million contract from the U.S. government to develop a bird flu vaccine for humans. Officials in Washington, D.C. have tasked Moderna with making a bird flu vaccine that can be quickly scaled and manufactured in the event of a major outbreak.

MRNA stock has declined nearly 60% over the last 12 months as sales of its only commercially available vaccine, a shot against Covid-19, slow.

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 stock price target of $62.31 implies 29.70% upside from current levels.

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