By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares tumbled 23% on Friday after the company trimmed its vaccine sales forecast, citing production issues.
The company also fell short of profit and sales expectations in the third quarter, reporting an EPS of $7.70 on revenue of $5 billion.
Moderna said production issues have pushed back some of its deliveries to 2022. Moderna expects deliveries of its Covid-19 vaccine in FY 2021 to be between 700 million and 800 million, down from the previous 800 million to 1 billion range.
"Key variables impacting output include longer delivery lead times for international shipments and exports that may shift deliveries to early 2022, temporary impact from expansion of fill/finish capacity and ramp-up of product release to market," the pharmaceutical company said.
Moderna projects sales to be in the range of $17 billion to $22 billion in 2022.
In addition, news that Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) has developed a Covid pill is also weighing on Moderna's share price. The company said its Covid-19 pill, used with an HIV drug, can cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in high-risk adults.
It's been a rough couple of days for Moderna shareholders, with its stock closing down17% on Thursday after the earnings report. Earlier this week, Moderna disclosed that it would delay filing for approval for its vaccine for young children after the FDA asked for additional time to evaluate the vaccine for use in adolescents.
Moderna shares are trading at $217.17 as of midday.