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Highlights
- Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq:ALT) stocks fell despite positive results from the clinical trial of its medicine for obese people.
- Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq:MRNA) stock declined after recent comments from CEO Stéphane Bancel on the pandemic.
- Moderna’s total revenue in Q2, 2021, was US$4.4 billion as compared to US$67 million in Q2, 2020.
Stocks of healthcare companies Altimmune, Inc (Nasdaq:ALT) and Moderna Inc (Nasdaq:MRNA) fell sharply in intraday trading on Tuesday.
Altimmune’s stock declined after news that a patient suffered liver damage after being treated with its candidate drug. On the other hand, the Moderna stock tanked for no apparent reason.
Altimmune, Inc.
The ALT stock fell 8.56% to US$13.85 at 12.54 pm ET on Tuesday.
The Pemvidutide drug showed positive results in Phase 1 clinical trial barring one adverse case. The results showed that the obese patents decreased their weight considerably after the drug was administered for 12 weeks.
However, one patient exhibited signs of liver damage.
Altimmune is a Maryland-based biopharmaceutical company and develops treatments for obesity and liver diseases. Its market cap is US$545 million.
The EPS is US$-1.69. The 52-week highest and lowest stock prices were US$24.61 and US$7.80, respectively.
The company reported revenue of US$0.1 million in Q2, 2021, against US$0.7 million in Q2, 2020. The net loss for Q2, 2021, was US$24.8 million, or US$0.60 per share, compared to US$16.8 million or US$0.94 per share in Q2, 2020.
Also read: Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine for 5-11 years old shows positive results
Source: Pixabay.
Moderna Inc
The MRNA stock dropped 5.51% to US$386.235 at 1.12 pm ET on Tuesday, although there was no new announcement from the company recently.
However, stocks of several other Covid-19 vaccine makers also saw a significant price drop on Tuesday. Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel recently told a Swiss newspaper that the Covid-19 pandemic would be over within a year.
The end of the pandemic would reduce demand for covid vaccines, which could be one of the reasons for the price drop. However, Monday’s overall volatility in the equity market might have also contributed to its decline.
MRNA is a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company and manufactures RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. It is among the few companies that have developed a vaccine against Covid-19.
Moderna’s market cap is US$156 billion. The P/E ratio is 48.35, and the forward P/E one year is 14.04. The EPS is US$8.02. The 52-week highest and lowest stock prices were US$$497.49 and US$65.49, respectively.
Moderna’s total revenue in Q2, 2021, was US$4.4 billion as compared to US$67 million in Q2, 2020. The net income was US$2.8 billion as compared to a net loss of US$(117) million in Q2, 2020.
Bottomline
The healthcare sector saw rapid growth over the past year, buoyed by demand for Covid-19 vaccines. The regulators also have expedited drug approvals due to the pandemic, contributing to increased activities in the sector. Investors, however, should evaluate the companies carefully before investing in stocks.
