Moderna Stuns Wall Street With Surprise Profit On Strong US Vaccine Sales, Cost Tightening

COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna, Inc.'s ($MRNA) third-quarter earnings report released Thursday ahead of the market open provided a shot in the arm for the stock.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna reversed from a loss of $9.53 per share in the third quarter of 2023 to a profit of $0.03 in the third-quarter of 2024. Analysts were expecting a loss of $1.94 per share for the quarter. 

Revenue climbed 4% year-over-year (YoY) to $1.9 billion, with roughly 95% of it generated from product sales. This also marked a strong increase from the $241 million in the second quarter, which was marred by a plunge in COVID-19 vaccine sales.

Moderna attributed its strong third-quarter top-line growth to higher U.S. sales due to the earlier launch of the updated COVID-19 vaccine, and a $10 million contribution from respiratory syncytial vaccine sales, which commenced in the quarter. International sales, however, declined YoY. The consensus estimate had called for revenue of $1.25 billion.

Cost of sales fell 77% due to reductions in inventory write-downs and unutilized manufacturing manufacturing capacity, and productivity improvements. R&D expenses  also declined a more modest 2% to $1.1 billion. 

The company ended the quarter with cash, cash-equivalents and investments of $9.2 billion.

Looking ahead, the company reiterated its 2024 net product sales of $3 billion to $3.50 billion from its respiratory franchise. 

"Looking into the fourth quarter and preparing for 2025, we remain focused on driving sales growth, delivering 10 product approvals over the next three years, and continuing to reduce our cost structure," Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel said in a statement.

Moderna reduced its R&D expenses guidance from $4.8 billion to $4.6 billion to $4.7 billion but nudged up its capex outlook from $0.9 million to $1.2 billion. The higher capex guidance included the $0.4 billion for the purchase of the Norwood campus

Moderna confirmed reports of the President Stephen Hoge taking on an expanded role that included overseeing commercial operations. It promoted Jacqueline Miller to the role of Chief Medical Officer.

The company also said it intends to file for the approval of its next-gen COVID-19 vaccine and RSV vaccine for high-risk adults, aged 18-59 years, in 2024.

At the open, Moderna shares surged 9.43% to $56.69.

Retail went gaga over the quarterly report, with one user on the Stocktwits platform calling for 30% post-earnings gains.

Another flagged a potential short-squeeze loading.

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