By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) are up over 1% after a Deutsche Bank analyst upgraded shares to Buy from Hold with a $165 per share price target.
The analyst took into consideration the “solid” results that Moderna published in early August. He paid special attention to the confirmation of an H2’22 P1 start for the triple COVID/flu/RSV.
This is “the most notable [update] as it represents the most viable route to extending the booster franchise, in our view, whilst H2 will also bring key proof of concept readouts in rare disease (PA/MMA) and oncology (melanoma PCV study) ahead of key P3 read outs FY23 (RSV, CMV, etc) plus potential P1 updates for the key next-gen P1 flu assets MRNA-1020/30,” the analyst wrote in a client note.
Moreover, the analyst also notes that the company “has been more forthright with its buyback programme” than, for example, BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX).
Despite many positives that led him to upgrade MRNA shares, the analyst also leaves space for a potential move lower in shares “if upcoming catalysts disappoint and COVID revenues continue to collapse in FY23 as is expected.”
“Valuation will likely compress closer toward MRNA’s cash pile than is presently the case: the key remains convincing validation of the platform beyond COVID,” the analyst concluded.