Moderna's Faces 'Material Headwinds' on RSV, COVID, RBC Says

Moderna (MRNA) faces short-erm "material headwinds" for respiratory syncytial virus and COVID vaccines, while prospects for a cancer vaccine and the mRNA platform look bullish in the long term, RBC Capital Markets said Thursday in a report.

On Thursday, Moderna said it is reducing annual R&D spending by $1.1 billion starting in 2027 in light of "recent commercial challenges." Revenue guidance for 2025 was put at $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion with analysts polled by Capital IQ expecting $3.95 billion.

Pfizer (PFE) and GSK (GSK) "may be in a better competitive position given they can bundle RSV with other approved drugs," and Moderna disclosed new hurdles for COVID, including increasing competition, RBC said.

Moderna's pipeline has also experienced setbacks with plans to file for approval of a standalone flu vaccine being abandoned, RBC said.

"Overall, we remain believers in cancer vaccine and what the broader platform can do long term, but with multiple short-term headwinds (including COVID vaccination rates likely to continue to decline and RSV taking time to ramp), we do remain sector perform" on Moderna, RBC said.

RBC lowered its price target on the stock to $75 from $90.

Moderna shares fell 3.4% in recent Friday trading. Pfizer and GSK both eased 0.1%.

Price: 67.31, Change: -2.37, Percent Change: -3.40