For a while, things weren’t looking all that great for biotech stock Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA). Its primary stock in trade, the COVID-19 vaccine, has been falling off for years as the virus’ threat has greatly diminished. However, a new cancer product gave Moderna shares a roughly 6% shot in the arm in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
The latest development out of Moderna features a combination of its Keytruda and the newcomer neoantigen candidate mRNA-4157. The two together are geared toward taking on head and neck cancer that doesn’t involve HPV.
Early data from the Phase 1 study recently emerged as Moderna took its findings to the American Association for Cancer Research. The early tests found solid results, including “preliminary positive clinical responses and disease control,” as well as “well-tolerated,” with a “…safety profile consistent with mRNA-4157 monotherapy.”
More in the Back
That’s certainly good news for Moderna, but that’s not all. Moderna recently brought out new vaccines geared toward several other diseases. Norovirus, Epstein-Barr, and a virus that causes both chickenpox and shingles are all on tap as well. With COVID-19 treatments largely out the door, aside from a few die-hards who continue to get the shots as updates arrive, Moderna needs something to address the shortfall from a mostly conquered disease. These treatments may serve to do just that, and since there’s more than one, each needs to succeed that much less to make up a complete replacement.
What Is the Analyst Rating for Moderna?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on MRNA stock based on nine Buys, six Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 30.59% loss in its share price over the past year, the average MRNA price target of $134.56 per share implies 21.01% upside potential.
