By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) dropped 14% after AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) and Oxford University said their vaccine candidate showed promise.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, AZD1222, is safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials in healthy volunteers, Reuters reported, citing data from The Lancet. No serious side effects were reported.
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) downgraded Moderna, which is working on a separate vaccine candidate, today on a high valuation, to neutral from overweight, The Street reported. Analyst Cory Kasimov boosted his one-year price target to $89 from $60.
Moderna has surged in recent months on vaccine news, quadrupling to more than $80 since March.
Moderna’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, elicited antibodies in all people tested in an initial safety trials, Bloomberg reported last week, though there was a high rate of side effects, with three of 45 people facing severe reactions. Moderna should begin a Phase 3 trial on July 27, The Street said.