Moderna stock loses ground as first U.S. bird flu death puts vaccine development in the spotlight

recent records (mRNA(It fell more than 9% on Wednesday, giving up most of its gains from Tuesday’s session during a volatile week for the stock then seen.) The first death from bird flu in the United Stateswhich focused on developing a vaccine.

The stock jumped more than 10% on Tuesday before reversing course early Wednesday. Over the past five trading sessions, the stock has risen about 4%.

In July 2024, it was Moderna Received $176 million from the US government To advance the development of an mRNA H5N1 (bird flu) vaccine, which is still in the early stages of testing. The award came after an outbreak of the virus in cows that infected three dairy workers, raising fears of an outbreak of the disease among humans.

As of January, she was there 66 confirmed cases of H5N1 infection In the United States since 2024, the CDC said Monday.

“The CDC carefully studied the available information about the person who died in Louisiana and continues to assess that the risk to the general public remains low,” the federal public health agency said. “However, people who are exposed during work or recreation to infected birds or other animals are at greater risk of becoming infected.”

After Moderna’s development of a Covid-19 vaccine led to a huge increase in revenues – rising more than 2,000% in 2021 from the previous year, with the vaccine maker… Achieving its first profits ever – The company has faltered in the post-pandemic world. Moderna’s revenue fell 64% to just under $7 billion in 2023 (well below the $18.5 billion in reported sales in 2020), and the company reported a loss of roughly $12 per share.

Wall Street analysts tracked by Bloomberg expect the company to report a loss of just over $9 per share for fiscal 2024 and for sales to halve from the previous year.

Even with this week’s rally, Moderna shares are down nearly 60% over the past year. More than half of the analysts tracked by Yahoo Finance have a Hold rating on the stock, but on average, they see shares rising to $74 over the next 12 months, implying a 56% upside from their current level.

Shares of other companies developing an mRNA bird flu vaccine also rose after news of the bird flu death. Novavax stock (Nafax) rose nearly 11% on Tuesday. German biotechnology company CureVac (CVAC) rose more than 4%.

CureVac is developing an mRNA vaccine for bird flu in collaboration with London-based pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.Glaxo.bo). Pfizer stock (PFE) fell by a more modest 0.9%, while GSK itself fell 1%.

A slight increase in Covid-19 cases Reporting from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also helped support vaccine makers earlier this week.

Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Bluesky @laubratton.bsky.social. Email her at [email protected].

The story continues