What happened
Moderna (MRNA 2.49%) bounced back on Wednesday from a dip earlier in the week, with shares up 5.9% as of 2:53 p.m. EST. The gain came after the biotech announced two positive developments Wednesday morning. Singapore approved interim authorization for COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273. Also, the Swiss government increased its order of Moderna's vaccine from 7.5 million to 13.5 million doses.
So what
Both of Moderna's announcements today translate to higher revenue for the company. It already has a supply deal in place with Singapore for an unspecified number of doses of mRNA-1273. And while no financial details of Moderna's supply agreement with Switzerland have been released, it's likely that the additional 6 million doses announced today will add well over $100 million to the biotech's top line this year.
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But does the biotech stock have much more upside potential over the near term? Moderna's market cap already tops $65 billion. Assuming the company makes in the ballpark of $15 billion in 2021 from mRNA-1273, its current valuation already prices in the revenue growth.
Moderna has other pipeline candidates, including experimental cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine mRNA-1647. The company plans to advance the vaccine into late-stage testing this year. It's possible that mRNA-1647 or other promising candidates could provide additional catalysts in 2021.
Now what
One key thing to watch with Moderna going forward is the potential for adding another 100 million doses of mRNA-1273 to its supply agreement with the U.S. The company confirmed last week that's in discussions with the Biden administration, though no deal has been finalized yet.
