Moderna Posts Q2 Beat, Closes In On Coronavirus Vaccine Deal With Swiss Government

Moderna Inc MRNA shares were moving to the downside Wednesday despite the coronavirus vaccine developer reporting forecast-beating second-quarter results and reports of a potential deal with the Swiss government.

Moderna's Q2 Report: Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna said its second-quarter revenue increased from $13.1 million in 2019 to $66.4 million in 2020, exceeding the $27.43-million consensus estimate.

The company attributed the higher revenue to increased collaboration revenues from AstraZeneca plc AZN and incremental BARDA funding.

The loss per share narrowed from 41 cents to 31 cents, despite R&D expenses climbing about 18%. The Street was expecting a loss of 35 cents per share. 

The company ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and investments of about $3.1 billion. Moderna raised $1.3 billion in net proceeds with a public equity offering in May.

Moderna said it has received about $400 million in customer deposits as of July 31 for potential supply of its coronavirus vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273.

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Moderna Analyst Says Government Funding Key: On the earnings call, the company said it has executed smaller volume agreements for mRNA-1273 at $32-$37 per dose, and it expects to negotiate larger volume contracts at lower prices in the future, SVB Leerink analyst Mani Foroohar said in a note.

"We continue to expect larger volume government contracts to drive most revenue in the pandemic period, and that these large contracts will present an economically [attractive] value to MRNA shares on a contribution margin basis, regardless of somewhat lower headline price," the analyst said. 

The risk of increasing competitive intensity could impact demand, he said. 

Moderna said its base case assumes a supply of 500 million doses of the vaccine per year, with annual capacity of 1 billion doses in an upside scenario, Foroohar said. 

The Phase 1 data from elderly patients treated with mRNA-1273 is likely to be released in the upcoming weeks, the analyst said.

A Deal In The Making: Moderna is close to striking a coronavirus vaccine supply agreement with the Swiss government, a Reuters report said, citing a government official.

"We are only a few hours away from completing a purchase contract. With this contract we will get it very quickly," the official reportedly said.

The official did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, Reuters said.

MRNA Price Action: Moderna shares were down 3.98% at $75.34 at the time of publication Wednesday. 

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