What happened
Moderna's (MRNA -0.34%) bread and butter at the moment is Spikevax, its coronavirus vaccine. However, with cases and deaths dropping notably in many (although not all) jurisdictions, some investors are doubtful that the company is worth its rather lofty valuations.
This concern came to the surface on Tuesday. News that a pair of large and important customers have declined to exercise options for more Spikevax doses sent Moderna shares down by slightly more than 6% on the day.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Early Tuesday morning, Bloomberg reported that both the African Union and COVAX have decided not to opt for the additional shots.
Citing an email from a Moderna spokesperson, the news agency said that the African Union -- a bloc of 55 member states from that continent -- declined the 60 million dose option it held for the second quarter of this year. This followed the purchase of 50 million doses from the biotech in the first quarter.
COVAX, the World Health Organization's coronavirus vaccine initiative, is saying no to two options, one for the third quarter of this year and the other for the fourth. For both periods, COVAX is entitled to 166 million doses.
Now what
These developments aren't surprising, given the sharp declines in much of the world in both COVID-19 cases and fatalities. However, combined, the options represent a great many doses of Moderna's (so far) one and only commercialized product.
This could herald the end of the coronavirus stock era, although those becoming bearish on Moderna should keep in mind that the company has a pipeline of mRNA-based treatments for several other afflictions.
