Moderna Stock Tumbles on Earnings Miss and Lower COVID-19 Vaccine Sales Forecast

A pharmacist holds a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine inside a Walmart department store in West Haven, Connecticut, on Feb. 17, 2021. Mike Segar/Reuters

Moderna shares fell by more than 17 percent in early trading Thursday after the company slashed its COVID-19 vaccine sales forecast for 2021 by up to $5 billion and announced lower-than-expected third-quarter revenues and profits.

In an earnings announcement (pdf), released Nov. 4, Moderna reported total third-quarter revenue of $5 billion. While that was well above the $157 million in revenues in the comparable quarter a year ago, it missed analysts’ predictions of $6 billion.