Moderna’s (mRNA) response to a potential COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough for young children may leave some traders scratching their heads.
Shares of the biotech fell 3% on Wednesday on positive interim data released by Moderna for a coronavirus vaccine for children under the age of six. Moderna said the shots were about 44% effective at preventing Omicron in children aged six months to two years.
“We believe these latest results from the KIDCOV study are good news for parents of children under the age of 6. We now have a clinical view on the performance of our vaccines from infants as young as six months old through to older adults. There is data. Given the need for a vaccine against COVID-19 in infants and young children, we are working with the US FDA and regulators globally to collect these data as quickly as possible ,” Moderna CEO Stephen Bunsell said in a statement.
As far as the moderation in the stock price reaction is concerned, analysts covering Moderna point to a few factors.
“The company is indicating that [the successful results announced Wednesday] at various investor conferences,” Oppenheimer Biotech analyst Hartaj Singh told Yahoo Finance via email.
Singh said, “The pediatric market (six months to six years old) is small for vaccine manufacturers. It is a parent’s decision to vaccinate their children, and most parents will probably be cautious because of COVID-19.” Vaccines are not the same and done like smallpox, etc.”
Singh has a market-performing rating on Moderna’s shares.
Singh says, however, that Moderna’s growth is ultimately positive from a competitive standpoint.
“However, approval for this age group puts Moderna on par with Pfizer/BioNtech,” Singh said.
The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot is currently the only vaccine approved by the regulators for children between the ages of five and 11.
Brian Sozzy is a great editor and Anchor at Yahoo Finance, follow soji on twitter @BrianSozzi and on linkedin,
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