Moderna shares came under pressure after Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded the biotechnology company to sell from neutral, calling the stock considerably overvalued despite raising its price target to $81 from $40. The new target still implies 46% downside from Wednesday’s close. The downgrade followed Moderna’s Aug. 19 announcement that its experimental melanoma vaccine, developed with Merck, produced positive results in a late-stage trial, sending shares up 177% that day. The stock closed Wednesday 14% below its Aug. 19 level but remained up 411% year to date, and fell nearly 2% in premarket trading after the downgrade. Rothschild analyst Simon Baker said the melanoma data were strong but argued that investors had extrapolated the results across tumor types without supporting evidence. The firm’s view contrasts with broader Wall Street sentiment: LSEG data shows that about two-thirds of 24 analysts covering Moderna rate the shares hold, while only two have sell ratings. Investors are also weighing Moderna’s broader oncology and vaccine programs, regulatory milestones, a $2.6 billion convertible-notes offering due in 2032 and pressure from elevated Treasury yields. The company’s Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial of intismeran autogene with KEYTRUDA met its primary endpoints for recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival in stage IIB-IV melanoma patients, while Moderna has received approval for mFLUSIVA and clearance for updated 2026-2027 COVID-19 vaccine formulations.