0
An image of the Moderna logo. / Reuters-Yonhap

Shares of U.S. biotechnology company Moderna, which had performed poorly following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, have recently been rising again.

Moderna shares closed at $222.76 on the New York stock market on Oct. 29 (local time), up 4.02% ($8.60) from the previous day. The stock has risen 283.77% over the past three months and 626.24% since the beginning of the year.

Investor sentiment appears to be recovering following positive Phase 3 clinical trial results for a personalized cancer vaccine candidate and news of the company's reentry into the Nasdaq-100 Index.

A key factor behind the stock's rebound is the Phase 3 clinical trial results for intismeran, a personalized melanoma vaccine candidate being jointly developed with Merck.

According to Reuters, recently released detailed clinical trial results showed that, in a trial involving more than 1,100 patients with high-risk melanoma, those who received Keytruda and intismeran together had a 42% lower risk of recurrence or death and a 38% lower risk of distant metastasis or death compared with patients who received Keytruda alone.

Moderna and Merck said that although sufficient overall survival data had not yet been accumulated, a positive trend in survival had been observed. The companies added that they were discussing next steps with regulatory authorities.

Detailed clinical trial results are scheduled to be presented on Oct. 31 at a meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Madrid, Spain.

Wall Street analysts have responded positively to the clinical results themselves, but some have also warned that investor expectations may have become excessively high following the sharp rise in the stock price over a short period.

UBS analyst Michael Yee described the clinical data as robust but predicted that profit-taking could emerge after the results are released.

William Blair analyst Myles Minter also viewed the results positively but noted that whether the vaccine can demonstrate efficacy in other cancer types will be a factor determining the company's future valuation.

                                                                                                             Kim Hyun-min