Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA)
On Thursday, Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) released its financial results for the first quarter of 2023. These results beat the expectations of Wall Street, which was helped by a slower-than-expected fall in demand for the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. As a result, Moderna stock surged.
The vaccine manufacturer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, also reaffirmed its 2023 outlook for at least $5 Billion in sales from previously announced COVID-19 vaccine Advanced Purchase Agreements and projected $2 Billion of total product sales during H1 2023, including $0.2 Billion to $0.3 Billion in Q2 2023. These projections were made about the company’s outlook for sales of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Moderna stock total revenue for the quarter decreased to $1.9 billion from $6.1 billion the same time the previous year as sales of its COVID-19 shot plunged amid the diminishing effect of the pandemic. This resulted in a roughly 69% YoY dip in product sales, which beat the street’s expectations.
After considering a $148M charge linked to inventory write-downs because of surplus and outdated COVID-19 items, the company’s cost of sales as a percentage of product sales increased to 43% from 17% in Q1 2022. This is a significant increase from the previous quarter’s result.
Although Moderna’sR&D expenses increased by 104% year-over-year to $1.1B due to investments in clinical trials, the company still managed to beat Wall Street’s expectations with a net income of $79M. Cash and cash equivalents also performed better than anticipated, reaching $3.4 billion and representing a 7% increase from the end of 2022.
New contracts for the COVID-19 vaccination have been negotiated. They are expected to be finalized with pharmacies, hospitals, and other government agencies in the United States this autumn, which gives us hope. Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel stated, “Similar conversations are underway with Japan, the EU, and other major markets, including Australia, which just ordered extra COVID-19 vaccinations.
The business anticipates the introduction of vaccinations against RSV and influenza in 2024. It estimates annual sales of $8 billion to $15 billion by 2027 due to six key respiratory vaccine releases in the years to come.
Featured Image: Unsplash @ Mufid Majnun
