COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna Inc (Nasdaq: MRNA) reported a swing to profit in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, compared with a net loss last year, aided by a sharp rise in revenues generated from COVID-19 vaccine sales.
The biotechnology company also upwardly revised its outlook for the COVID-19 vaccine while issuing an upbeat note about its efficacy. The stock ended Thursday’s trading session at $416.26, almost unchanged from the prior close.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm reported second-quarter revenues of $4.354 billion, compared with $67 million in the similar quarter last year, and surpassed the $4.28 billion anticipated by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The surge in revenue was mainly due to COVID-19 vaccine sales and to a smaller extent, funds received in the form of grants.
For the quarter ended June 30th, 2021, the company engaged in transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) posted a net income of $2.78 billion, or $6.46 per share, compared with a net loss of $117 million, or $0.31 per share in the quarter ended June 30th, 2020. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had anticipated the business to post earnings of $5.96 per share for the reported quarter.
Segment-wise,
- Product revenues were $4.197 billion in 2Q21, compared with nil last year.
- Grant revenues increased to $139 million, from $38 million. The increase was driven by $101 million received from BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) for COVID-19 vaccine development.
- Collaboration revenues declined to $18 million, from $29 million.
Research and development expenses almost tripled to $421 million in the quarter ended June 30th, 2021, compared with $152 million in the year-ago quarter.
While acknowledging the Delta variant of COVID-19 as a serious threat, the CEO stated that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine had demonstrated 93% efficacy for six months. Furthermore, the company stated that the Conditional Marketing Authorization (CMA) for Spikevax (Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine) in the European Union (EU) and endorsement in Japan by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare have been broadened to include children aged 12 years and older.
Additionally, Moderna has also kick-started the procedure for a Biologics License Application (BLA) for its vaccine in the US and anticipates finishing the ongoing submission process in August.
Notably, the company has successfully finished the Phase 1 study of mRNA-1283, the next-generation COVID-19 vaccine, which is intended to be a refrigerator-stable vaccine, implying ease of storage and distribution.
Bancel also revealed that clinical trials are going on for mRNA-based drug candidates in five areas, namely infectious diseases, oncology, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular and rare diseases.
With respect to infectious diseases, the company has stated that it has begun the Phase 2 study of mRNA-1893, which is the potential Zika virus vaccine candidate.
Overall, at the end of the second quarter, the company had 23 mRNA drug development programs, with 15 in clinical trials.
Looking ahead, the firm already has $20 billion worth of Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs) in place, including sales reported for the first half of this year. Moderna anticipates dose capacity for its COVID-19 vaccine for fiscal 2021 to be in the range of 800 million to 1 billion doses.
For fiscal 2022, Moderna has already inked APAs for roughly $12 billion and options of about $8 billion. The company is also involved in multiple negotiations for 2022 deliveries.
Moderna has also started signing APAs for 2023 as several developed countries are preparing to face the endemic phase of COVID-19. For FY 2022, the company forecasts dose production capacity for its COVID-19 vaccine to be in the range of 2 billion to 3 billion doses.
The quarterly earnings beat and bullish view of FY 2021, 22, and 23 vaccine deliveries are expected to keep the stock bullish in the days ahead.
The historical price chart reveals that the stock has broken above the ascending triangle. The stock is also trading above its 50-day moving average, while the stochastics indicator is in the bullish zone. Therefore, we are expecting the stock to remain in an uptrend in the coming days.
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