Moderna Posts First Quarterly Profit, Revenue Disappoints



Moderna (MRNA) reported better-than-expected 1Q earnings and the first profitable quarter in its history. Meanwhile, revenues for the quarter missed analysts' expectations. Shares plunged more than 8% in early trading on Thursday.

The company recorded earnings of $2.84 per share in 1Q, compared to the loss of $0.35 recorded in the prior-year quarter. Analysts were expecting the company to report EPS of $2.39.

Total revenue of $1.94 billion missed analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. Both research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative costs more than tripled to $401 million and $77 million, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. (See Moderna stock analysis on TipRanks)

Additionally, Moderna revealed that it has won another order for the supply of 7 million doses of its booster vaccine in 2022 to the Swiss Federal Government. Furthermore, the agreement's terms have the option of an additional 7 million doses to be delivered during the second half of 2022 or the first quarter of 2023. Notably, purchases under this deal await regulatory approval.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said, "The feedback from governments around the world requesting high-efficacy mRNA vaccines and variant boosters is overwhelming. We are now actively engaged in discussions and agreements for 2022 with all of the governments we are currently supplying for 2021. On top of that, new partnerships, like COVAX, for up to 466 million doses in 2022 and discussions with new governments in Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America, make us believe that our total advance purchase agreements for 2022 should be higher than those in 2021."

On May 3, Piper Sandler analyst Edward Tenthoff reiterated a Buy rating and a price target of $234 (59% upside potential) on the stock. This followed the issue of an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO) for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, and the 500 million mRNA-1273 doses order from Gavi COVAX, the majority of which will be delivered in 2022.

The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic about the stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating. That's based on 5 Buys, 4 Holds, and 2 Sells. The average analyst price target of $167.60 implies around 15% upside potential to current levels. Shares have increased 45.7% so far this year.

TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 83% Bullish on MRNA, compared to a sector average of 70%.

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