Moderna (MRNA 2.81%) was a fine stock to heal an ailing portfolio on the second-to-last trading day of the week. The company, which developed and sells the Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine, saw its share price balloon by almost 13% thanks to an encouraging set of quarterly results. With that rise, it easily topped the 0.9% bump of the S&P 500 index on the day.
Huge revenue drop and major net loss, as expected
Moderna's opening quarter of 2024 saw the company reap $167 million in revenue, less than a tenth of the nearly $1.9 billion it made in the same period of 2023. The key reason why was simple and entirely expected: We're well past the peak of the Covid pandemic, after all, and there has been a sharp drop-off in demand for vaccines like Spikevax.
Consequently, the company posted a rather deep headline net loss of almost $1.2 billion, or $3.07 per share, against the year-ago profit of $79 million ($0.19).
Normally, investors wouldn't reward such declines and steep shortfalls. But the market was braced for a notably worse showing. On average, analysts following Moderna stock were estimating that the biotech would earn only $94 million in revenue and book a steeper net loss of $3.55 per share.
The Spikevax story is over, but...
Barring a renewed Covid surge -- fingers crossed! -- there isn't much future in Spikevax. Yet as ever, Moderna continues to develop vaccines and drugs based on innovative use of mRNA. Its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine is currently being put through its paces in a phase 2/3 clinical trial and has already been submitted for approval for somewhat limited indications. It also reported success in late-stage testing of its seasonal flu vaccine.
