Moderna Offers Deep Value as Drug Pipeline Flows Fast

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It’s crazy the way Wall Street can love a company but then abandon it soon afterwards. Massachusetts-based Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) was the darling of the market during the initial onset of covid-19 in 2020, but lately, MRNA stock has fallen out of favor.

red text reads "moderna" on a light blue background. there is a bottle of liquid vaccine next to a medical needle
Source: diy13 / Shutterstock

If you’ve been patent and waited for a great entry point, congratulations. Buying shares of good companies like Moderna while other traders are selling them can be a powerful wealth-building strategy.

Besides, Moderna is at the top of its game as a pharmaceutical-product provider. In fact, the company’s CEO just provided a critical update regarding the rollout of Moderna’s long-awaited omicron booster shot.

Let’s not forget, though, that Moderna’s business model doesn’t entirely rely on covid-19 vaccines. As we’ll discover, the company is continuing to push the envelope on multiple fronts in the vaccine-development niche.

MRNA Stock at a Glance

Investing can be like a rollercoaster ride sometimes. In the case of MRNA stock, it made a full round trip from the $140s in April 2021, to nearly $500 in August of that year, back to the $140s in February 2022.

There’s a harsh lesson here for traders who chased the stock near the $500 level. A “buy low, sell high” strategy means that investors must wait patiently for stocks to come down to a price that’s hard to resist.

Currently, MRNA stock is getting harder to resist, particularly for value-focused investors. Consider that Moderna’s trailing 12-month price-to-earnings ratio is just 8.94.

That’s an indication of a great value. It means that Moderna has robust earnings and a comparatively low share price. Clearly, there’s a window of opportunity here and it might not last much longer.

Key Booster Update

The omicron covid-19 variant strain is known for spreading rapidly. Knowing this, Moderna is preparing to provide new booster shots to the public.

Moreover, the company’s CEO, Stéphane Bancel, recently gave an essential update on this. Specifically, Bancel said that Moderna aims to have a new covid-19 booster shot ready by August of this year — critically before next autumn, when more vulnerable people may need the booster.

While he believes that a booster will be needed, Bancel acknowledged that he doesn’t know yet, “if it is going to be the existing vaccine, Omicron-only, or bivalent: Omicron and existing vaccine, two mRNA in one dose.”

Whichever type of booster it will be, it will undoubtedly provide protection for many people who need it.

Furthermore, Bancel confirmed that under the best-case scenario, Moderna would have a pan-vaccine ready by August 2023. This would be a vaccine that would protect against covid-19, flu and other respiratory diseases at the same time.

Not Just Covid-19 Protection

The prospect of delivering a pan-vaccine reminds us that Moderna is dedicated to offering protection against a range of diseases, and not only covid-19.

Indeed, the company recently announced the expansion of Moderna’s mRNA pipeline with not just one, but three new vaccine development programs.

The new programs include a mRNA vaccine candidate designed to combat the herpes simplex virus, one to address the varicella-zoster virus and reduce the rate of shingles, as well as a new checkpoint cancer vaccine.

Along with those, Moderna also has vaccine candidates against cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and human immunodeficiency virus.

Bancel emphasized the broad medical implications of these crucial mRNA vaccine programs, and particularly the newly introduced ones.

“We are pleased to announce these new development programs, which reflect the continued productivity of our platform and the potential of our mRNA technology to impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people,” Bancel stated.

The Takeaway

Value investing means waiting patiently for stocks to come down to an attractive price point. MRNA stock has declined to the point where it offers a favorable risk-to-reward proposition.

Sure, Moderna is still committed to combating omicron. Yet, let’s not dismiss the company’s full suite of important vaccines in development.

With all of that in mind, feel free to consider a long position in MRNA stock. The upside potential is strong as Moderna continues to push the envelope in advancing essential vaccines.

On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

Louis Navellier, who has been called “one of the most important money managers of our time,” has broken the silence in this shocking “tell all” video… exposing one of the most shocking events in our country’s history… and the one move every American needs to make today.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2022/02/mrna-stock-offers-deep-value-as-drug-pipeline-flows-fast/.

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