Novavax slashed its 2022 outlook on tumbling demand for Covid vaccines, leading NVAX stock to crash Tuesday.
The decision followed a major second-quarter disappointment in which sales came in at less than one-fifth what analysts projected. Further, Novavax reported an unexpected loss that widened vs. last year's second quarter. Wall Street had expected Novavax to tack on a second straight quarter of gains.
On today's stock market, NVAX stock plummeted 29.6% to close at 40.28.
"Novavax adjusted guidance for 2022 to account for several evolving market dynamics," the company said in a written statement. "We remain confident in our vaccine as a strong additional choice. Its competitive product profile includes our vaccine's (effectiveness), well-tolerated safety profile, durability of protection, and ability to address both current and future variant strains."
NVAX Stock: Differentiating From Pfizer, Moderna
Novavax is banking on its protein technology to differentiate it from Pfizer's and Moderna's messenger-RNA-based Covid shots. Novavax's vaccine is available to adults in 43 countries including the U.S. It also has a booster shot in three countries.
But investors hammered NVAX stock after the second-quarter report. Sales tumbled nearly 38% to $185.9 million and missed forecasts for $1.02 billion. Novavax also lost $6.53 per share. Analysts expected a per-share gain of $5.54. Losses also widened from $4.75 in the year-earlier period.
The company says it's making "tremendous progress" in the third quarter and has already shipped more than 23 million doses since the beginning of July. It's important to note, in the U.S. the vaccine is available only to adults who haven't received any Covid shot. That's about 10% of adults.
"While in some cases delivery may be pushed into 2023, we do not expect total contracted demand to change under the majority of our advance purchase agreements," Novavax said.
Still, the company cut its 2022 outlook in half and now expects $2 billion to $2.3 billion in sales. That pales in comparison to NVAX stock analysts' call for $4.27 billion. Still, sales would nearly double at the midpoint of Novavax's guidance.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
