The shares of Moderna Inc (Nasdaq: MRNA) declined 17.89% or $61.90 to close at $284.02 after the company reported a sharp drop in fiscal 2021 earnings and revenues. Furthermore, the company also downwardly revised its FY 2021 outlook, in addition to COVID-19 vaccine delivery guidance. However, the company swung to a profit in the third quarter, compared with a loss in the comparable period last year.
The Cambridge-Massachusetts-based company reported third-quarter revenues of $4.969 billion, a sharp rise from $157 million in the similar period of fiscal 2020. Product sales mainly accounted for the increase in sales. Grant revenue contributed to a smaller degree.
For the quarter ended September 30th, 2021, Moderna posted a net income of $3.333 billion, or $7.70 per share, compared with a net loss of $233 million, or $0.59 a share, in the quarter ended September 30th, 2020. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv anticipated the company to report third-quarter earnings of $9.05 per share on revenues of $6.21 billion.
Segment-wise,
- Product revenues were $4.810 billion. This includes the COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax.
- Grant revenues declined to $140 million, from $145 million.
- Collaboration revenues increased to $19 million, from $12 million last year.
At the end of the third quarter, cash, cash equivalents, and investments were $15.3 billion and $5.2 billion, respectively.
Looking ahead, considering the likely lower delivery of doses this year and re-scheduled for 2022, Moderna now expects FY 2021 product sales guidance to a range of between $15 billion and $18 billion, down from $20 billion issued earlier. The downward revision is also based on the increase in priority for deliveries to low-income countries (under the brand Covax).
Furthermore, Moderna now anticipates deliveries of its COVID-19 vaccine in FY 2021 to be in the range of 700 and 800 million doses, based on the 100 µg dosages, a decrease from the earlier guidance range of 800 million to 1 billion doses.
For FY 2022 deliveries, the company has inked delivery agreements (advance purchase agreements or APAs) worth roughly $17 billion in addition to options worth $3 billion. Moderna also forecasts commercial booster revenues to reach a maximum of $2 billion, subject to the on-time receipt of supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) or Biologics License Application (BLA) for booster shots.
Furthermore, the company forecasts FY 2022 sales to be between $17 billion and $22 billion. With the aim of returning value to shareholders, Moderna’s Board has also endorsed a $1 billion share repurchase program valid for a period of two years.
The quarterly earnings miss, downward revision of FY 2021 outlook, and COVID-19 vaccine delivery guidance are expected to keep the stock of Moderna slightly bearish bias in the short-term.
The historical price chart indicates that the stock of Moderna is declining after facing resistance at 350. The next major support is anticipated only near 240. Additionally, the stock has closed below its 50-day moving average, while the stochastics indicator is descending towards the bearish zone. Therefore, we are anticipating the stock to remain in a downtrend in the near term.
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