By
Tolu Ajiboye
January 31st, 2024
In addition to noting that Moderna will lead the RSV vaccine market, Cowen also referred to major opinion leaders’ belief in the pharmaceutical company competing in a “three-player vaccine market”.
Shares of pharmaceutical and biotechnological company Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) jumped almost 7% on a stock upgrade by investment banking company TD Cowen. The financial institution upgraded the biotechnological company’s stock from market perform to outperform. The bank’s analysts are confident that the vaccine will “be a leader” in the RSV vaccine market. Moderna closed up 6.95% to $147.90 in reaction to the stock upgrade by Cowen.
Modern has been working on an m-RNA-based RSV vaccine for older adults. The company revealed earlier in the year that its vaccine mRNA-1345 had met primary efficacy endpoints in phase 3 trial in older people. Upon review by an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board on the effectiveness of the immunization, the vaccine maker plans to file for regulatory approval within the first half of 2023. Announcing the Phase 3 efficacy trial result, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel stated that data is encouraging and “represents the second demonstration of positive phase 3 trial results” from the mRNA infectious disease vaccine platform following the COVID-19 vaccine.
Upgrading the Moderna stock to outperform, Cowen analysts led by Tyler Van Buren explained:
“It’s clear that mRNA vaccines could be disruptive to the traditional vaccine market as they can target complex antigens simply and with rapid, cell-free manufacturing that can lead to an approved product in record time. Moderna’s near-to-mid-term valuation is becoming less reliant on the emergence of new COVID variant epidemic waves and more so on PCV, RSV, and flu.”
TD Cowen Upgrades Moderna Stock
In addition to noting that Moderna will lead the RSV vaccine market, Cowen also referred to major opinion leaders’ belief in the pharmaceutical company competing in a “three-player vaccine market”. Notably, an advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently voted in favor of the Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and GSK (NYSE: GSK) RSV vaccines for older adults. The three vaccine makers are in a race to be the name bearer for the world’s first vaccine against RSV, a contagious virus that infects the respiratory tract.
Meanwhile, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for mRNA-1345 in late January. The agency gave the designation based on positive topline data from the Phase pivotal efficacy trial. The vaccine was 83.7% effective in preventing the respiratory syncytial virus with two or more symptoms in adults aged 60 or above. Also, the vaccine was 82.4% effective at preventing lower respiratory tract disease with three or more symptoms.
After its shares popped on the TD Cowen stock upgrade, Moderna stock is trading up 0.47% to $148.60 in after-hours trading. The vaccine company has gained 4.86% in the last five days.