An analyst called Moderna's stock overvalued after it rose 400% since the start of the year
The success of trials for a skin cancer vaccine led to a sharp rise in the price of the company's stock
A Rothschild analyst deemed the market's reaction to the results of Moderna's skin cancer vaccine trials to be excessive / Photo: Shutterstock.com / Panaceum Media
The research firm Rothschild & Co Redburn has downgraded Moderna’s stock and now recommends selling it, although it has simultaneously doubled its price target. According to Rothschild, the biotech company’s shares have become overvalued following a sharp rise driven by the success of an experimental cancer vaccine. They are now trading at nearly five times their price at the beginning of the year.
Details
Rothschild & Co Redburn has changed its neutral rating on Moderna shares to “Sell” (meaning a recommendation to sell), CNBC reported. The analyst raised the target price from $40 to $81, although the new target still implies a decline of approximately 46% from the September 2 closing price.
“Moderna’s recent data on its melanoma vaccine were unquestionably positive and built on the company’s previous successes. However, the excessively enthusiastic reaction to this news defies our understanding under any plausible scenario, and as a result, we believe the stock has become significantly overvalued,” said analyst Simon Baker (as quoted by CNBC).
In mid-August, Moderna reported positive results from late-stage trials of an experimental melanoma vaccine developed in collaboration with Merck. On that day, the company’s stock rose 177%, but has since lost more than 14%, according to CNBC.
According to Baker, investors have effectively factored the widespread use of the vaccine against other types of cancer into the stock price, even though there is no data yet on its effectiveness against other types of tumors.
What about the stocks?
Moderna's stock is now trading at a price 391% higher than it was at the beginning of 2026. During trading on Thursday, September 3, the stock price fell by about 4%.
Rothschild's assessment differs from the analyst consensus. According to MarketWatch, 16 of the 26 analysts covering Moderna recommend holding the stock (Hold rating), six more recommend buying (Buy and Overweight), while only four recommend selling (Sell and Underweight). The average price target is $108, which is 29% below the closing price on September 2.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
