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Moderna on Thursday posted a steep loss for the third quarter because the drugmaker recorded a big write-down attributable to unused Covid vaccines, its only marketable products.Â
Moderna’s total revenue for the period topped Wall Street’s expectations, even amid plummeting demand for its shot. Its outlook for next 12 months, nevertheless, got here in lower than what analysts were projecting.
Here’s what Moderna reported for the third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly generally known as Refinitiv:
- Loss per share: $9.53. That is probably not comparable to the $1.93 per share expected by analysts.Â
- Revenue: $1.83 billion vs. $1.40 billion expected
Moderna posted a net lack of $3.63 billion, or $9.53 per share, for the quarter. That compares with net income of $1.04 billion, or $2.53 per share, reported through the year-ago period.Â
The corporate said the loss was primarily driven by $3.1 billion in mostly non-cash charges related to tax allowances and changing its manufacturing footprint. The resizing, which resulted in $1.4 billion in charges through the third quarter, goals to make the corporate’s Covid vaccine profitable in 2024 and beyond, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in an announcement.Â
Cost of sales for the quarter got here in at $2.2 billion. That included a $1.3 billion charge for vaccines which have exceeded their shelf life and a contract manufacturing wind-down cost of $500 million, amongst other costs.
The biotech company generated third-quarter sales of $1.83 billion, with sales of its Covid shot dropping 44% from the identical period a 12 months ago. Total revenue plummeted from the $3.36 billion Moderna recorded within the third quarter of 2022, when Covid cases still trended higher within the U.S.Â
Moderna’s stock is down greater than 57% for the 12 months as of Wednesday’s close, putting the biotech company’s market value at roughly $29 billion.
Moderna reiterated its current full-year outlook of at the least $6 billion in Covid vaccine sales, but didn’t provide a spread for that forecast. In August, Moderna said it expected its shot to rake in $6 billion to $8 billion in revenue in 2023.Â
Covid vaccine questions
The corporate said its guidance assumes Covid vaccine trends will probably be consistent with last fall, but noted that U.S. vaccination rates are still the “largest remaining variable to sales for the 12 months.”Â
Notably, Moderna said its Covid vaccine has won 45% of the U.S. market share up to now this fall, up from the 36% market share it captured in 2022. The corporate added that it expects the U.S. marketplace for Covid shots to be at the least 50 million doses this fall.Â
Moderna expects roughly $4 billion in sales in 2024, mostly within the second half of the 12 months, mainly attributable to global Covid shot sales and the launch of its vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Wall Street analysts had expected $6 billion next 12 months. By 2025, Moderna expects to return to organic sales growth.Â
Moderna and its rivals Pfizer and Novavax have all seen sales of their Covid-related products plummet as much of the world moves on from the pandemic and depends less on protective vaccines and coverings.Â
Moderna is hoping to shift investor focus away from Covid toward a pipeline of recent vaccines. The corporate is developing shots targeting other respiratory diseases and has said it hopes to supply a slew of recent jabs targeting cancer, heart disease and other conditions by 2030.
The lineup includes Moderna’s experimental vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The corporate in July filed for full approval of the shot for adults ages 60 and older and expects a choice from regulators in 2024.Â
Moderna can be hoping to win approval for its combination vaccine targeting Covid and the flu in 2025. That shot recently showed positive initial leads to a mid-stage clinical trial and is anticipated to deliver greater convenience to patients and health care providers. Â
The pipeline also includes Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine, a highly anticipated shot being developed with Merck to focus on different tumor types, together with a flu vaccine.Â
Moderna will hold an earnings call with investors at 8:00 a.m. ET on Thursday.