Why This Moderna Analyst Is Turning Bullish On Drugmaker's Pipeline

Shares of Moderna Inc MRNA rallied in premarket trading on Monday.

While the COVID-19 story has become old, a new candidate in Moderna’s pipeline is likely to be a catalyst for its stock, according to Jefferies.

The Moderna Analyst: Michael Yee upgraded Moderna from Hold to Buy while raising the price target from $170 to $275.

The Moderna Takeaways: Phase III RSV data for the company’s PCV (personalized cancer vaccine) candidate is due, and the return of pipeline opportunities could result in the stock rebounding in 2023, Yee said in the upgrade note.

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The new PCV cancer vaccine is the "new shiny thing," with Phase II data last week showing when personalized cancer vaccines “reduced the risk of recurrence/death by 44% vs pembro alone in adjuvant melanoma patients,” the analyst said. 

“We predict Phase III RSV vaccine will be (+) w/ data imminently and be competitive and as good as (or better than) others setting the stage for "combo" vaccines with 2-3 antigens all in Phase II and data all coming in 2023,” he added.

MRNA Price Action: Shares of Moderna were down 0.18% at $192.94 Monday morning.