• Goldman Sachs lifted its price target for Moderna stock to $US105 from $US63 on Monday after first trials for its coronavirus drug showed “encouraging” results.
• Moderna announced Monday that all 45 volunteers in the trial produced antibodies to protect against COVID-19 infection. Shares jumped as much as 39% on the news.
• The new price target implies a 25% leap from Moderna’s price at 12:25 p.m. ET.
• Analyst Salveen Richter raised the vaccine’s probability of success to 75% from 70%, and projected phase-two studies will begin this quarter.
• Watch Moderna trade live here.

Moderna has a new biggest bull on Wall Street who sees the biotech’s stock surging on its experimental coronavirus vaccine.

Goldman Sachs lifted its 12-month price target for Moderna shares to $US105 from $US63 on Monday, citing “encouraging” results from the company’s mRNA-1273 treatment. The company announced Monday that all 45 volunteers in a phase-one trial produced antibodies that may protect them from COVID-19.

The biotech company’s stock leaped as much as 39% to record highs in early Monday trading. The trial results helped drive the S&P 500 index as much as 3.3% higher.

Goldman analyst Salveen Richter raised the program’s probability of success to 75% from 70% following the positive results. The bank is “optimistic on the forward outlook for the vaccine” and expects phase-two trials to begin in the current quarter. Phase-three studies will start in July, Richter estimated.

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Goldman’s new target implies a 25% jump from the stock’s price as of 12:25 p.m. ET. The new target surpasses the previous Wall Street high of $US83.

Moderna shares have more than quadrupled in the year-to-date as the firm races to develop the first coronavirus vaccine. The company hopes to have a vaccine ready for use by the fall, fast-tracking the trial process as global COVID-19 cases continue to soar.

Moderna has 11 “buy” ratings and one “hold” rating from analysts, according to Bloomberg data.

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