Modern (MRNA) improved on Friday with a possible follow-on. PfizerIn the year (PFE) tracks to increase cost of covid vaccine by 2023. The mRNA stock jumped on the news.
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Pfizer plans to quadruple the cost of the Vivid vaccine to roughly $110-$130 for recipients age 12 and older. The transition to the commercial market It will take place as early as the first quarter of 2023, Pfizer said in an email to Investors Business Daily. Today, the US government pays about $30 per dose. BioEntech (BNTX)-Partnership Recording.
SVB Securities analyst Manny Furuhar expects Moderna to follow Pfizer’s example.
“Modena will significantly improve the company’s ability to meet its 2023 revenue guidance by assuming valuations as a reasonable binary,” Foruhar said in the report.
Shares of mRNA rose 8.4 percent to 128.32 on the stock market today. Pfizer shares rose 4.8% to 44.97. BioNTech shares rocketed 11.2 percent to 131.64. Novavax ( NVAX ), which recently received U.S. approval for its Covid shot and first stimulant, rose 12.6 percent to 19.34.
MRN Stock: Falling Demand for the Covid Shot
The price increase will help bridge the declining demand for Covid vaccines and the expected 2023. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $16.4 billion in revenue from Pfizer’s shot and $8.4 billion from Modena’s. Those projections call for steep declines of 49% and 60%, respectively, compared to 2022 projections.
SVB Securities raised their price target on MRNA stock to 74 from 101. However, he’s not entirely sold on Moderna’s efforts with a modern flu vaccine and Merck’s partnership for a personalized cancer vaccine.
“We will go sideways and wait for a more attractive entry point, long or short,” he said.
Moderna representatives could not immediately comment on the company’s pricing plans.
New challenges in the business market
Pfizer’s updated pricing comes as the health emergency ends in the U.S. The company expects most commercially insured patients to pay nothing out-of-pocket for the Covid shot. Pfizer also said it plans to offer free vaccinations to uninsured patients through a grant program.
Pfizer says the transition to the commercial market includes the challenges of distributing the vaccine through multiple channels and payers, rather than strictly through the government. It is also expected to pose a challenge for mRNA accumulation.
The company expects customers to request more single-dose bottles. This limits the amount of unused vaccine that expires. But single-size bottles are three times more expensive to manufacture and cost more to ship.
Still, despite the jump for Moderna and Pfizer shares, both stocks remain under pressure. mRNA concentrations reached their most recent peak in August, but have since fallen. Pfizer stock has been declining since July.
Follow Alison Gatlin on Twitter @IBD_AGAtlin.
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