Moderna joined the S&P 500 on Wednesday as the index’s the best performing stock this year – by a mile.
The move caps the drug maker’s transformation from an early-stage biotech to a vaccine maker supplying Covid shots to the world. With a gain of just over 207 per cent so far in 2021, Moderna’s share performance tops the index’s existing leader, L Brands, which has risen about 104 per cent.
In the run up to its inclusion in the US benchmark, Moderna’s stock has made fresh highs advancing more than 30 per cent over four sessions before a 2 per cent dip on Tuesday. Its shares closed 4.5 per cent higher at $321.11, another record, with a market value of about $129 billion.
Moderna’s rise has come largely from its innovations in developing messenger RNA vaccines, which use the body’s cells as mini vaccine factories. That has led some Wall Street analysts to call it the “Tesla of biotech” because the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is charting a course that may change the way infectious diseases are treated.
The company secured its place in the upper echelons of US biotechs next to AbbVie and Amgen – after receiving emergency authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccination last December, just a week behind Pfizer and BioNTech.
But the parallels with Tesla don’t necessarily bode well for Moderna’s stock. Since the day before Tesla’s inclusion in the benchmark in December, it has fallen about 6% versus the index’s gain of nearly 18%. Other recent additions to the index have also underperformed.
Shares of companies entering the index typically rally ahead of the inclusion as investors adjust their portfolios. Moderna’s shares were already losing steam on Tuesday, closing 2 per cent lower at $307.33.
Sceptics of Moderna’s surge in recent months note that its pipeline is in the early stages of human testing while the market for Covid-19 booster shots isn’t yet fully understood.
Still, recent lab results show Moderna’s jab produces antibodies against the Covid-19 Delta variant. Analysts at Goldman Sachs also predict Moderna could have a new flu shot on the market by 2023 and a combination of a flu and Covid-19 vaccine as soon as 2024. The company also is working on new vaccines and medicines for cancer and HIV as well as Zika and heart disease.
A survey of 191 hedge funds and institutional investors from Jefferies trading desk indicated that roughly 73 per cent of respondents expect Moderna shares to be little changed or to fall 20 per cent or worse into year end. The investors were most keenly focused on a delta booster and flu shot results, while only 13 per cent were long Moderna.
“In the end, we still have no idea who is buying the stock,” Will Sevush, a strategist with Jefferies wrote to clients, “bulls are very few and very far between.”
Sales of mRNA-1273, as Moderna’s Covid inoculation is called, are likely to beat Wall Street consensus for $18.1bn in 2021, according to Goldman. But even the Wall Street high price target of $299 from Moderna’s biggest enthusiast – Goldman analyst Salveen Richter – implies further retreat.
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
RESULT
Chelsea 2
Willian 13'
Ross Barkley 64'
Liverpool 0
More on Turkey's Syria offence
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 523hp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh469,000
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
