Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equalweight Rating on Moderna (MRNA)
Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Harrison reiterated an Equalweight rating and $95.00 price target on Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA).
The analyst comments "This morning MRNA announced that its Ph3 trial of mRNA-1083 (combo vaccine against influenza and COVID-19) has met its primary endpoints (LINK). We view this as an incremental positive for the stock as it could help bolster the tail of the COVID franchise, but we await further insight on the regulatory path. The ongoing Ph3 trial evaluated mRNA-1083 in two separate age groups of ~4,000 adults each. One consisted of adults 65 years and older, compared mRNA-1083 to co-administered Fluzone HD, an enhanced flu vaccine, and Spikevax, Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. The other cohort of adults 50 to 64 years of age compared mRNA-1083 to co-administered, Fluarix, a standard dose flu vaccine, and Spikevax. Per the release the immune responses from a single dose of mRNA-1083 were found to be non-inferior versus the co-administered, licensed comparators. In both age cohorts, mRNA-1083 also elicited statistically significantly higher immune responses against three influenza virus strains (H1N1, H3N2, and B/ Victoria) and against SARS-CoV-2. Immunogenicity was also tested against the B/ Yamagata strain of influenza and mRNA-1083 met non-inferiority criteria in both age cohorts. Due to the disappearance of the B/Yamagata lineage from circulation, WHO has recommended a trivalent influenza vaccine composition without B/Yamagata for 2024/2025 vaccines. Per the PR mRNA-1083 showed an acceptable tolerability and safety profile. The majority of solicited adverse reactions were grade 1/2 and consistent with the licensed vaccines used in the trial. The most commonly solicited adverse reactions were injection site pain, fatigue, myalgia and headache. Next steps: Moderna plans to present the Ph3 data at an upcoming medical conference as well as submit it for publication. Moderna will also engage with regulators on next steps. Per 1Q earnings commentary, Moderna believes these data could bolster the filing package for flu component (mRNA-1010) as a monotherapy vaccine, and thus plans to discuss the totality of the data with regulators when available; in addition, they continue to expect that regulators will only require immunogenicity data for initial approval, with VE data required as part of a postmarketing commitment (LINK). Further, Moderna previously guided 2025 launch of the combo vaccine."
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Shares of Moderna closed at $151.01 yesterday.