Moderna won an agreement for its Covid vaccines in Europe on Friday, but Moderna stock pulled back from high single-digit gains and slipped into the red.
The agreement provides 17 countries in the European Union, Norway and North Macedonia with access to Moderna's messenger RNA-based Covid vaccine for up to four years. That includes prefilled syringes, which can speed up vaccinations on a pharmacy-by-pharmacy basis.
Chantal Friebertshauser, Moderna's senior vice president for Europe and Middle East, said the benefits of diversifying vaccine supplies. Moderna is competing against Pfizer and BioNTech, which sell another mRNA-based shot. Novavax has a protein-based Covid vaccine, also available in Europe.
"Diversity of supply and availability of vaccine formats such as prefilled syringes are vital to help increase vaccination rates and enhance vaccination campaign efficiency, ultimately strengthening health security," she said in a written statement.
Moderna Stock Yo-Yos
At the close, Moderna stock fell 1.3% to 41.41. Earlier, shares jumped as much as 7.1%. Shares are now sitting on a floor at their 50-day moving average, according to MarketSurge.
Moderna stock got a boost earlier this week when Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison called out the potential for using artificial intelligence to develop mRNA-based cancer vaccines. Moderna is working on a cancer vaccine with partner Merck.
Still, Moderna shares are in a long decline. Shares hit a recent high in May 2024 at 170.47. Since then, Moderna stock has fallen about 75%.
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