Investment Thesis
Following the announcement of an equity offering, Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) dropped sharply this week. Driven by its positive trial data for the CMV vaccine and the collaboration to develop mRNA-1273, its vaccine candidate against the novel coronavirus, the stock well outperformed NASDAQ Biotechnology Index until then. The CMV vaccine is expecting a data readout in the third quarter from the ongoing Phase 2 trial as it targets a multibillion-dollar market opportunity. With their speed and scalability in development, the mRNA vaccines hold promise for a faster response against the 2019-nCoV infection.