Shares plummet

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares tumbled more than 10% at the opening of trading in New York on Thursday on the back of the Biden administration's decision to support a COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property rights waiver.

The company's good first-quarter report didn't help either, with adjusted earnings of $2.84 per share on sales of $1.9 billion. On average, analysts polled by FactSet had expected Moderna to earn $2.39 on revenue of $2.06 billion.

A year ago, before the company launched its first commercial product, the COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna had a loss per share of 35 cents and sales of $8.4 million, Investor's Business Daily reported.

Moderna raised its 2021 sales forecast for the COVID-19 vaccine by 4.3% from $18.4 billion to $19.2 billion,

The company said it would apply for full approval of the vaccine in the United States as early as this month, Reuters reported. An initial analysis of a study on adolescents aged 12-17 showed the vaccine to be 96% effective.

The company is also working on a new version that could extend the shelf life of the vaccine at normal refrigerator temperatures, making it easier to distribute, especially in low-income countries.

CEO Stephane Bancel said the company could sign more deals with countries to supply the vaccine in 2022 than in 2021.

Earlier this week, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) raised its annual forecast for the COVID-19 vaccine, developed with German company BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX), to $26bn. Pfizer shares are down 4.35%.