Moderna shares gained 2.2% during premarket trading on Thursday as the biotech company reported a revenue of $570 million during the fourth quarter of 2020. This revenue surge came as a result of skyrocketing sales of the Massachusetts-based company’s COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273.
Despite this record-high sales revenue, the biotech firm nevertheless incurred a $272,000 loss (69 cents per share) for the financial period ending on December 31st, 2020. This is a stark year-on-year contrast to the $123,000 loss (37 cents per share) incurred during the fourth quarter of 2019.
On the revenue end, the biotech company’s fourth-quarter revenue in 2020 far exceeded that of the previous year. Moderna’s revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019 reached a little over $14.1 million. The main reason for its skyrocketing revenue in 2020 was the widespread distribution of its COVID-19 vaccine to countries spanning several continents, including the United States.
The mRNA-1273 is the first vaccine to be authorized in the biotech firm’s history. Moderna expects to manufacture 700 million doses of its vaccine in 2021; up 100,000 from its previous estimate. This is in addition to the 1.4 billion doses that the company expects to produce in 2022. The company recently completed its Phase 2 vaccine trial on children between the ages of 6 months and 11 years old.
