AstraZeneca (GB:AZN) announced that its COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria has been granted approval for use as a third-dose booster shot in adults in the European Union (EU).
Approved by the European Medicine Agency (EMA), Vaxzevria can now be used as a third dose booster in people previously vaccinated with a primary vaccine schedule of either Vaxzevria or an EU-approved mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
The approval follows a recommendation by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) to allow booster dosage approval.
The company stated that Vaxzevria is already authorized as a booster dose for people previously vaccinated with Vaxevria as the primary vaccine in the UK and many other countries in Asia and Latin America.
Further, the vaccine has been granted conditional marketing authorization or emergency use in over 125 countries. The World Health Organization also has an Emergency Use Listing for the vaccine, giving it access in up to 144 countries through the COVAX Facility.
The vaccine is manufactured and supplied by the Serum Institute of India under the name COVISHIELD, under a sub-license agreement with AstraZeneca.
Shares of the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company have gained almost 30% over the past year.
Management Commentary
Mene Pangalos, EVP of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, commented, “Ensuring a longer duration of immune protection is essential to the long-term management of COVID-19 globally, and boosters can address the waning of protection over time that has been seen with all primary vaccine schedules to date.”
Wall Street’s Take
Last week, Societe Generale analyst Justin Smith increased the price target on AstraZeneca to £153.00 (45.2% upside potential) from £130 and reiterated a Buy rating.
The rest of the Wall Street community is cautiously optimistic about the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on nine Buys and two Holds. The average AstraZeneca price target of GBp11,231.82 implies 6.6% upside potential to current levels.
Concluding Thoughts
Invented by the University of Oxford, Vaxzevria has helped prevent approximately 50 million COVID-19 cases, five million hospitalizations, and saved more than one million lives worldwide.
The approval for the third booster dose in the EU could boost revenues and profitability for the company.
Discover new investment ideas with data you can trust.
Read full Disclaimer & Disclosure
Related News:
Why Are Top Insiders Selling Meta Stock?
Why Did Sea Shares Jump 14%?
Home Depot Hits Home Run with Solid Q1 Results
