Moderna’s shares advanced 2.9% in pre-market trading on Tuesday after the company and partner Merck reported positive late-stage trial results for its personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene.
The vaccine met its primary endpoint in a Phase III study involving patients with surgically removed melanoma tumors, demonstrating a significant reduction in recurrence rates. This marks the first successful Phase III outcome for an mRNA-based cancer immunotherapy, according to the companies. The vaccine is being developed under a collaboration between Moderna and Merck, with the latter handling commercialization.
The trial success follows Moderna’s broader surge this year, with shares up 392% year-to-date and consolidating well below the 52-week high of $176.66. Barclays analyst Eliana Merle raised the firm’s price target to $125 from $48 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating. The revision was published late Monday. Separately, Wolfe Research had previously upgraded Moderna from Underperform to Peerperform, estimating unadjusted peak sales of $9.2 billion across four indications—adjuvant melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, muscle-invasive bladder cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer—before accounting for Merck’s profit-sharing agreement.
The broader market showed modest gains, with the Nasdaq Composite up 1.0% and the S&P 500 rising 0.5%. Analysts anticipate 2027 as a potential commercialization year for mRNA cancer vaccines, contingent on positive interim data from ongoing trials.
