Moderna extends slide as analysts question valuation after cancer vaccine data
MRNA•Moderna shares fell 4.7% premarket after dropping 17.57% Thursday, when the decline wiped about $17.2 billion off its market value. Analysts questioned the valuation after trial data showed the vaccine combination cut melanoma death or recurrence risk by 42%.
1. Shares extend decline
Moderna shares fell 4.7% to $193.02 premarket, extending Thursday’s 17.57% decline to $202.63, which wiped about $17.2 billion off the company’s market value. Detailed late-stage melanoma trial data showed intismeran plus Keytruda cut the risk of death or recurrence by 42% and the risk of cancer spread by 38%, compared with Keytruda alone.
2. Analysts question valuation
RBC analyst Luca Issi called the data “clearly impressive” but said the benefit was numerically lower than in the mid-stage study and that he continued to “struggle to justify a $81b valuation despite the pullback.” Morningstar analysts said the share price had run too far after the initial top-line announcement in August. Moderna was up 587% year to date as of Thursday’s close.
