Business

Analysts predict Moderna to meet COVID-19 forecast for 2023

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Moderna is expected to achieve the lower end of its sales target for this year as it only needs to cater to a small section of the private market with its COVID-19 vaccine to attain that goal, as per the industry experts.

According to four analysts who spoke with Reuters, it is possible for Moderna to achieve $2 billion in sales from the private market in 2023 if about 20 million people are vaccinated with its updated COVID-19 vaccine.

The company has said it expects total US COVID-19 vaccine demand to be as much as 100 million doses in the fall season.

Moderna predicts $6-8 billion in COVID-19 vaccine sales in 2023, with $2-4 billion coming from the commercial market. Pfizer’s full-year outlook for COVID-19 vaccine sales was lowered by about $2 billion due to lower-than-expected vaccination rates.

Moderna’s shares have fallen by some 22% since its larger rival’s warning.

“It is unlikely Moderna will have a negative fall (in its sales outlook) like Pfizer because they started off much more conservative,” said Oppenheimer & Co analyst Hartaj Singh.

Michael Yee, an analyst from Jefferies, said that while the rollout of the new shots was initially slow, it seems to be picking up, citing recent data. Yee expects most of the demand to come from people aged 65 and over.

Moderna reports third-quarter results on Thursday, two days after Pfizer posted its first quarterly loss since 2019 due to a large charge to account for the US government returning millions of doses of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, as well as an inventory of its COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty.

Moderna, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company, has seen its research and development (R&D) costs increase by 62% to $1.1 billion in Q2 2021, despite the COVID-19 vaccine being its only marketed product, as it aims to introduce other products.

The company’s RSV vaccine, which it aims to launch in the US in 2024, was found to be 82.4% effective in older adults with three or more symptoms in a late-stage trial. It would compete with recently approved vaccines from Pfizer and GSK.

Data from a late-stage study of Moderna’s flu vaccine with an updated formulation released in September showed it generated a stronger immune response against all four A and B strains of the influenza virus compared to traditional flu shots.

Moderna’s broader mRNA-based respiratory pipeline, which includes RSV and flu vaccines, is expected to reach $10 billion to $12 billion in sales, which will reduce expenses and bring R&D stability by 2025, Yee said.

Business

E&P Companies Will Invest $5 Billion in Pakistan’s Petroleum Industry

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

Over the next three years, local and foreign companies involved in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production sector have shown a strong desire to invest more than $5 billion in the nation’s energy sector.

Recent changes to the Petroleum Policy and the implementation of an exclusive tight gas policy, which provide better incentives and a more investor-friendly regulatory framework, are credited with the increase in investor confidence.

These strategic changes are expected to boost domestic energy production, open up new avenues for growth, and draw large amounts of both domestic and foreign investment.

Business

With inflation slowing, the SBP is anticipated to lower the policy rate for the eighth time in a row.

Published

13 hours ago

Farwa

Businesspeople anticipate another reduction in the policy rate when the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) releases the updated rate.

The interest rate for the upcoming two months will be announced by the central bank. It is still unclear if the rate will stay the same or be lowered to reflect stakeholder expectations.

According to experts, the policy rate will be lowered in order to further boost the nation’s economic sector.

Interest rates may be lowered for the seventh time in a row if the inflation rate declines significantly more than anticipated.

In its last six sessions, the MPC had cut the policy rate by 10 percent. In January 2025, it decreased the rate by one percent to 12pc.

12PC POLICY RATE

In January, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced cut in key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 12 percent from 13pc in line with expectations of the business community.

The policy rate, which had been at 22 percent since June 2024, was slashed by 1,000 basis points to 12 percent.

The SBP governor said the decision was taken with careful consideration. “Although inflation is expected to decline next month (February), core inflation remains a pressing concern,” he stated.

Ahmed highlighted strong remittance inflows and robust export growth as key factors supporting the current account.