Why Moderna Shares Are Rebounding From Friday's Losses

Moderna, Inc. MRNA shares have followed a downtrend ever since completing a double top formation in late September. After bottoming in early October, the stock reversed course and moved higher in anticipation of authorization for its COVID-19 booster shot.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee recommended late Thursday that the FDA grant an emergency use authorization for a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine for a select high-risk population.

In a buy-the-rumor, sell-the-news move, the stock trended lower Friday after advancing 13% from the Oct. 7 low of $293.58. It settled Friday's session down 2.3% at $324.21.

Moderna is recouping the losses, trading up 4.11% at $337.52 midday Monday. 

The chief catalyst is an upgrade of its shares by CFRA from Hold to Buy with a $385 price target.

On Friday, Piper Sandler analyst Edward Tenthoff upgraded Moderna shares from Neutral to Overweight while maintaining the price target at $445. The analyst premised his upgrade on a recent stock retreat that he said has rendered the valuation attractive.

Separately, a Financial Times report, citing data from Airfinity, said Moderna, along with Pfizer, Inc. PFE-BioNTech BNTX, will generate $93.2 billion in combined COVID-19 vaccine sales in 2022, double the amount generated in 2021.

The two companies will likely control about 75% of the non-Chinese COVID19 vaccine market in 2022, the report said.

Related Link: The Week Ahead In Biotech (Oct. 18-23): J&J, Biogen Kickstart Big Pharma Earnings, Regeneron-Sanofi, Roche Await FDA Decisions And IPOs

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
date
ticker
name
Price Target
Upside/Downside
Recommendation
Firm
Posted In: Analyst ColorBiotechNewsHealth CareAnalyst RatingsTrading IdeasGeneralCFRAEdward TenthoffPiper Sandler
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!