Moderna shares plummets after Q3 earnings report 📉

Shares of vaccine maker Moderna (MRNA.US) are losing nearly 10% today after Wall Street opened amid weaker third-quarter results and lowered forecasts for the company. Additionally, the stock market was weighed down by yesterday's hawkish conference by Fed chief Powell and the Federal Reserve's determination to bring inflation to its 2% target:

Revenue: $3.36 billion vs. $4.96 billion Q3 2021 $3.52 billion forecast (FactSet)

Earnings per share (EPS): $2.53 vs. $7.70 in Q3 2021 and $3.30 forecast (FactSet)

Net profit: $1.04 billion vs. $3.33 billion in Q3 2021

Value of advanced purchase agreements (APAs) for 2022 : $18 to $19 billion vs. $21.3 billion forecast (FactSet)

• The company lowered its forecast for total vaccine sales in the current year by $2 billion to $3 billion and reported a significant slowdown in profit and revenue growth in Q3. Moderna also reported that short-term supply constraints will negatively affect the value of contracts to purchase more formulations; 
• Results are weaker primarily due to a drastic decline in sales of the Covid vaccine and lower sales volumes caused by a prolonged waiting period for marketing approvals and extended production times because of this;
• Moderna is also struggling with rising costs. Selling expenses totaled $1.1 billion in the third quarter (outpacing net income) and accounted for 35% of all product sales. The company also had to set aside $333 million for write-downs due to rising inventories, which represent formulations whose shelf life has already been exceeded. Moderna, in a commentary following the results, did not elaborate on what accounts for the 'short-term supply constraints.'
• Moderna said it currently has confirmed so-called advanced purchase agreements worth between $4.5 billion and $5.5 billion, with sales expected to take place next year.

In the face of a slowing pandemic, the market has begun to view differently the fundamentals of medical and vaccine companies, which are no longer 'favorite stocks' for investors. At the end of September, Moderna held cash, cash equivalents and investments worth $17 billion, down slightly from $17.6 billion at the end of 2021. The amount of cash held, accumulated primarily during the coronavirus pandemic, is sufficient for the company to continue to successfully pursue very bold ventures and grow its business.Moderna shares (MRNA.US), D1 interval. The company's shares have been in a downtrend since the beginning of the year and have lost nearly 50%, underperforming the S&P500 index by nearly 2.5 times. The price again reacted with declines to resistance near $148, where the 200-session moving average runs. Previous declines in June also occurred after the price approached the SMA200, eventually the stock lost almost 40% at that time. The nearest support is the SMA50, which runs at $132 per share. The stock opened today with a nearly 8% downward gap but bulls are trying to recover the losses and break 145 USD again. Source: xStation5