Why Moderna Stock Is Up By 4% Today

FDA Approves Moderna’s Booster Shots For All Adults

Shares of Moderna gained upside momentum after FDA approved its coronavirus vaccine booster shots for all adults. Pfizer stock also enjoyed support at the start of today’s trading session as its booster shots were also approved.

Trading in vaccine stocks would have been active even without FDA approval today as Austria announced a full lockdown. In addition, Austria plans to make vaccination obligatory from February 1, 2022. Germany is expected to follow Austria’s example while the situation in other European countries is also concerning, which means that demand for vaccines will continue to grow.

Vaccine stocks have been under pressure in recent months as several anti-coronavirus drugs have shown encouraging results. Meanwhile, the number of new coronavirus cases in the world is rising while governments continue their attempts to vaccinate as many people as possible.

In this environment, demand for vaccines will stay strong, which could provide additional support to Moderna stock which has lost roughly 50% of its value since August.

What’s Next For Moderna Stock?

Analyst estimates for Moderna’s 2021 earnings have been moving lower in recent weeks. Currently, analysts expect that the company will report a profit of $25.76 per share. In the next year, Moderna is projected to report earnings of $26.32 per share, so the stock is trading at roughly 10 forward P/E.

That’s cheap, but the key question is what happens to Moderna’s earnings in 2023? If the pandemic remains out of control and more vaccines are needed, Moderna will get more profits that can be used to expand its business into other segments and make the company’s financial position more stable.

Current coronavirus trends are not encouraging, and the market’s focus may shift from new antiviral drugs to vaccines, which will be bullish for shares of all vaccine makers, including Moderna.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.