Rothschild Redburn将Moderna（MRNA）评级下调至Sell，认为癌症疫苗Phase 3数据后的180%涨幅过度定价

Moderna ( MRNA ) traded lower for the second straight session on Thursday as Rothschild & Co. Redburn issued a rare sell rating on the company, arguing the stock’s recent rally following late-stage trial data for its cancer vaccine developed with Merck ( MRK ) was disproportionate. Shares of Moderna ( MRNA ) added nearly 180% in a single session last month after the Massachusetts-area biotech said its skin cancer therapy, Intismeran, developed with Merck ( MRK ), achieved main goals in a Phase 3 trial for patients with resected melanoma. Arguing that the upsurge, which added more than $44B in market cap for the COVID-19 vaccine maker on August 19, was "overexuberant" and impossible to justify, Baker downgraded Moderna ( MRNA ) to Sell from Neutral. The analyst, however, raised his price target on the stock to $81 from $40, still indicating a 46% downside from its last close. While data from the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial were "undoubtedly good, building on earlier successes," analyst Simon Baker questioned the extent of the rally, which he said has left the stock "considerably overvalued." Baker argued the rally implied "near-ubiquitous usage across tumor types," a finding that the companies have yet to validate as the messenger RNA-based therapy advances across nine other clinical studies. Moderna ( MRNA ) currently has a Hold-equivalent average rating on Wall Street, with 17 Hold recommendations and five Buy ratings, including four Strong Buys. Apart from Rothschild & Co. and Redburn, J.P. Morgan is the only other brokerage to indicate Moderna ( MRNA ) as a Sell.