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- Moderna gained 12% after a report its vaccine likely protects against new COVID-19 strains.
- Moderna reached an intraday high of $147.43 Monday morning.
- The biotech company will begin testing a booster against the variant first found in
South Africa. - Watch Moderna trade live here.
Shares of Moderna gained as much as 12% Monday following a report from the biotechnology company that its vaccine can likely protect against new mutant strains of the coronavirus.
Moderna reached an intraday high of $147.43 soon after the Monday opening bell before paring some gains.
In a press release, Moderna stated that its mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine can probably protect people against variants of the disease first found in South Africa and the UK. The current vaccine showed lower levels of antibodies in lab testing against the South African variant, however.
“Out of an abundance of caution,” the biotech company will begin testing a booster shot tailored to protect people against the South African variant, according to Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel.
Read more: What’s coming next for COVID-19 vaccines? Here’s the latest on 11 leading programs.
“We continue to believe the emerging variants represent a management challenge that was anticipated when developing a vaccine against a coronavirus,” said analysts from Morgan Stanley. “Overall, we are encouraged that mRNA-1273 is expected to protect against severe disease, which remains a major issue driving hospitalization rates. We remain focused on the durability of protection, rate/prevalence of emerging variants and a validated surrogate of protection.”
Analysts from Morgan Stanley have a $150 price target for Moderna. The Massachusetts-based biotech company is up 35% year-to-date.
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