What happened
Modern (NASDAQ: MRNA) rebounded on Wednesday from a fall earlier in the week, with shares rising 5.9% from 14h53 EST. The gain came after biotechnology announced two positive developments on Wednesday morning. Singapore has approved the provisional authorization for mRNA-1273 of the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, the Swiss government has increased its order for Moderna vaccine from 7.5 million to 13.5 million doses.
And
Both of Moderna’s ads today translate into higher revenue for the company. He already has a supply agreement with Singapore for an unspecified number of doses of mRNA-1273. And while no financial details of Moderna’s supply agreement with Switzerland have been released, it is likely that the 6 million additional doses announced today will add well over $ 100 million to biotechnology revenue this year.
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But do biotechnology stocks have much more upside potential in the short term? Moderna’s market capitalization already exceeds US $ 65 billion. Assuming that the company makes about $ 15 billion in 2021 with mRNA-1273, its current valuation already represents revenue growth.
Moderna has other pipeline candidates, including mRNA-1647 from the experimental cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine. The company plans to take the vaccine to a final testing stage this year. It is possible that mRNA-1647 or other promising candidates could provide additional catalysts in 2021.
What now
One important thing to note with the advance of Moderna is the potential to add an additional 100 million doses of mRNA-1273 to its supply contract with the USA. The company confirmed last week that it is in talks with the Biden government, although no deal has been finalized yet.