Moderna, Inc. MRNA reported earnings of $3.07 per share in the first quarter of 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $3.59. In the year-ago period, management posted earnings of 19 cents per share. This bottom-line downtick was due to lower product sales during the quarter.
Revenues in the quarter were $167 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $124.7 million. Total revenues declined 91% year over year due to reduced COVID-19 vaccine sales during the quarter.
Shares of Moderna were up 5% on May 2, likely due to the better-than-expected earnings results.
Year to date, the stock has risen 12.1% against the industry’s 8.8% fall.
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Quarter in Detail
During the quarter, management generated its total revenues entirely from the product sales of its COVID-19 vaccine. This is a significant decline when compared to product sales of $1.83 billion in the year-ago period. Per management, this decline was in alignment with the company’s anticipated transition to a seasonal COVID-19 vaccine market.
Moderna did not record any grant and collaboration revenues during the quarter, compared to $34 million in the year-ago period. The company usually earns collaboration revenues from agreements with several big pharma/biotech companies, including Merck MRK and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $274 million, down 10% year over year. This downside is a result of Moderna’s cost discipline and efficiencies resulting from investments toward its foundational capabilities over the last year, resulting in a significant reduction of purchased services and the use of external consultants.
Research & development expenses were $1.1 billion, down 6% from the year-ago period’s levels. The downside was primarily owing to the absence of upfront collaboration payments made during the quarter compared with the year-ago period’s levels.
2024 Guidance
Moderna reiterated its product revenue guidance for 2024, expecting to generate around $4 billion in product revenues, driven mainly by sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and the launch of its RSV vaccine. Management expects to record around $0.3 billion in product sales in first-half 2024, indicating seasonal demand for its respiratory vaccines.
Management also maintained full-year R&D expenses of around $4.5 billion and SG&A expenses of approximately $1.3 billion. It expects capital expenditures to be around $0.9 billion and end 2024 with a cash balance of around $9 billion.
Recent Updates
The company has more than 40 mRNA-based investigational candidates in different stages of clinical studies, targeting various indications, including cancer. Moderna is evaluating multiple candidates in late-stage studies — mRNA-1647 [cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine], mRNA-1010 (influenza vaccine), mRNA-4157/V940 [individualized neoantigen therapy (INT)] and mRNA-1083 (COVID-19 plus influenza combination vaccine). Data readouts on mRNA-1083 and mRNA-1647 are expected before 2024-end.
mRNA-1345, Moderna’s RSV vaccine, is currently under the FDA’s review for use in older adults (aged 60 years and older). A final decision is expected before May 12, 2024. If the outcome is positive, a CDC advisory committee could also recommend using the vaccine in its meeting in June.
Last year, Moderna reported encouraging data from a phase III immunogenicity study (P303) and a separate phase I/II head-to-head study evaluating an enhanced formulation of flu vaccine mRNA-1010. Participants treated with mRNA-1010 elicited higher immune responses across all four A and B strains of influenza compared to the vaccines marketed by GSK and Sanofi. Management is in ongoing discussions with regulators and intends to start seeking regulatory approvals later this year.
At an investor event held this March, management announced its decision to advance three vaccines to pivotal late-stage development, namely mRNA-1189 (for Epstein-Barr virus [EBV]), mRNA-1468 (for Varicella-Zoster virus [VZV]) and mRNA-1405 (for norovirus).The decision to advance these candidates is based on data from separate early-stage clinical studies, which showed that the vaccines were immunogenic and well-tolerated among the study participants.
Moderna is co-developing mRNA-4157 with Merck. Since the onset of 2024, the companies have initiated three new clinical studies in additional tumor types, including a phase II/III study in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), the second most common form of skin cancer. Moderna/Merck also started two separate mid-stage studies in renal cell carcinoma and muscle-invasive bladder cancer indications, respectively.
Moderna and Merck are evaluating mRNA-4157 in two pivotal late-stage studies for melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) indications. They also intend to evaluate mRNA-4157 across various other cancer indications throughout this year.
Moderna, Inc. Price
Moderna, Inc. price | Moderna, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Moderna currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of better-ranked stocks in the overall healthcare sector include ANI Pharmaceuticals ANIP and Ligand Pharmaceuticals LGND, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
In the past 60 days, estimates for ANI Pharmaceuticals’ 2024 EPS have risen from $4.25 to $4.44. Meanwhile, during the same period, EPS estimates for 2025 have improved from $4.83 to $5.04. Year to date, shares of ANIP have risen 20.6%.
Earnings of ANI Pharmaceuticals beat estimates in each of the last four quarters. ANI delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 109.06%.
In the past 60 days, estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ 2024 earnings per share (EPS) have risen from $4.42 to $4.56. During the same period, EPS estimates for 2025 have improved from $5.11 to $5.27. Year to date, shares of LGND have registered breakeven growth.
Earnings of Ligand Pharmaceuticals beat estimates in each of the last four quarters. Ligand delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 84.81%.
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