Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) reported its second-quarter earnings Thursday, revealing a revenue of $241 million, a significant beat compared to the analyst consensus estimate of $128.41 million.
However, the company's stock plummeted by as much as 18% in early Thursday trading due to a downward revision in its full-year revenue guidance.
The biotechnology firm posted an adjusted EPS of -$3.33, narrowly outperforming the analyst estimate of -$3.35. While revenue beat expectations, it marked a 30% decrease from the $344 million reported in the same quarter last year, mainly due to a drop in sales of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, which fell to $184 million from the previous year's figure.
Moderna's Chief Executive Officer, Stéphane Bancel, commented: "During the second quarter, we marked the approval of our second mRNA product and significantly lowered our operating costs. We remain focused on execution for the 2024-25 COVID season and the launch of our RSV vaccine in the U.S.
"With continued positive Phase 3 data across our respiratory portfolio, we are using our mRNA platform to address significant unmet medical needs and advance public health. Our platform is poised to reach millions globally this year and we are excited by its continued positive impact on patients."
Looking ahead, Moderna revised its full-year 2024 net product sales guidance to between $3 and $3.5 billion, below the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion and a decrease from the previous guidance of $4 billion.
The company said its lowered guidance is driven by three factors: very low EU sales in 2024, potential revenue deferrals for certain international sales into 2025, and an increasingly competitive environment for respiratory vaccines in the U.S.
Reacting to the report, analysts at Morgan Stanley noted that while "2Q slightly beat on revs," 2024 revenue guidance was cut by $750 million at the midpoint, hence they expected MRNA to trade down this morning." Morgan Stanley said the key factors they are now looking for are "(1) further insight on guidance revision, (2) RSV vaccine contracting, (3) COVID vaccine outlook for remainder of 2024, and (4) pipeline progress, including INT filing/AA path."
Meanwhile, analysts at TD Cowen acknowledged the guidance, stating: "Contracting is mostly complete per the company, so we expect this to be fairly reliable. The company now expects to file for approval for flu and next-gen COVID by year-end, and we expect management to ask to file for AA for INT
by year-end."