Queensway Blog

Stocks / Indices

Moderna Stock Prediction, Worth The Investment ?

article

The Moderna Company

Founded in 2010, Moderna is a biotech company that specializes in using messenger RNA or mRNA technology to develop treatments and vaccines.

Moderna is one of the first companies to release a Covid-19 vaccine that uses mRNA earlier this year after it secured an emergency use authorization from the FDA.

As explained in Moderna’s company website, every cell in the human body employs mRNA to provide real-time instructions to make the proteins necessary to drive all aspects of biology, including in human health and disease.

Moderna continues to work at the forefront of the mRNA field to deliver on the promise of mRNA science to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients.

To do this, Moderna has its own internal incubator for ongoing explorations called New Venture Labs, which focuses on using mRNA to develop cutting-edge treatments for rare diseases.

At present, the Covid-19 vaccine is the only marketed product commercially available from Moderna, but the company said mRNA technology has the potential to treat a range of other diseases such as cancer and malaria.

This echoes the sentiment of another vaccine maker, BioNTech, whose shares, along with Moderna, surge to new highs after news that the former is developing mRNA treatments for cancer and malaria, among others.

The Fundamentals and History of Moderna Stocks

The onslaught of Covid-19 that started last year has shuttered a lot of businesses worldwide, crippled the biggest industries, and brought down even the most established multinational names that have been in the game for a long time.

For vaccine manufacturers like Moderna, Covid-19 paints an entirely different story.

Despite having only one product commercially available under its name, Moderna is undoubtedly one of the biggest players in the field right now.

In 2020, Moderna shares shot up nearly 700% as the company developed and tested its Covid-19 vaccine. By 2021, the company recorded a staggering 333% growth and got recently added to the S&P 500 index, which saw its shares surge to $484.47 – a far cry from its pre-pandemic trading price of less than $20.

In its latest earnings report for the second quarter of this year, Moderna recorded a total revenue of $4.4 billion, a significant increase from the $66.4 million posted a year ago, and a net income of $2.8 billion – figures that matched analyst expectations.

Moderna’s primary source of revenue is through the sales of its Covid-19 vaccine, to date, there are now more than 50 countries that have approved it for emergency use.

Helping fuel Moderna’s growth is the very high global demand for its Covid-19 vaccine, with the company expecting to supply between 800 million to 1 billion doses in 2021, and ramping it up to between 2 billion to 3 billion doses in 2022.

Moderna Stock Prediction

In its latest second quarter report that was released last August 5, 2021, Moderna revealed that it has several mRNA projects in development that target different diseases, in addition to working on the booster for their Covid-19 vaccine, which currently holds an outstanding efficacy rate of 93%.

According to Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, they are now in the clinical trial stage of the mRNA treatments they are developing, specifically in the areas of infectious diseases, cardiovascular, oncology, rare diseases, and autoimmune disorders.

Despite Moderna’s enormous Covid-19 sales, investors and analysts are cautious due to the potential drop off in sales once the world would hopefully bring the pandemic to heel in 2023 – a situation reminiscent of Gilead Sciences (GILD), which doubled its share price as sales of its hepatitis C cure soared half a decade ago, before cratering when those sales dried up.

“Moderna can compete with Pfizer in terms of speed,” Bancel says. “The other players haven’t so far demonstrated the ability to go fast.”

Bancel added that they could charge a premium next year if its multivalent Covid-19 vaccine, which will seek to protect against multiple variants, proves more effective than boosters offered by its competitors.

On another end, the books are also painting a strong outlook for Moderna – they had $5.2 billion in cash at the end of last year, and analysts expect it to have $10.2 billion by the end of this year and $16.6 billion by the end of next year.

Trade With Caution

While it looks like Moderna is on a trajectory for greater things and perhaps even better performance ahead, it still bears stressing that you must do your own research whether investing in it is a good choice for you – taking into consideration your financial situation, your personal preference to companies, and whether or not it fits into your portfolio diversification plan.

If you’re interested in learning more about finding the right investment for your portfolio, sign up for a FREE demo account now at Queensway Academy.