Thread by @GastroOneIndia

#VaccineMandate

For Healthcare businesses, Covid was a windfall. Conversely, when Covid is on its way out, they suffer. Moderna is one such company.

in Jan 2020 share price of Moderna was $19. At the peak of Covid second wave it was $494.

Now that Covid isn't seen as much of a threat, the share price fell to $142 which is 28% of its peak price in just 7 months. It is still 7 times of pre-covid days.

In 2019, Moderna was falling in sales and incurring huge losses. The sales were $60 Million in 2019.

And Covid stuck. The turnover for 2020 (Jan-December) was $ 803 Million. For 9 months of 2021, sales jumped to $11.36 Billion or an 190 times of 2019 sales.

In 2020, Moderna incurred losses of $745 Million. In 9 months of 2021, profits are $7.87 Billion.

The profit ratio is an obscene 70% of sales.

Moderna reaped profits because they invested in research. Where Governments failed, Moderna persisted. When sales were just $60 Million, Moderna invested $465 Million in research.

When Sales were $803 Million, Moderna spent $ 1.34 Billion on research. It was investing in research while it was losing heavily.

Now that Covid threat is waning (or so the Stock market believes), the stock is making a correction. It has fallen to 28% of its peak.

But what surprised me was the 70% profit margin. That is profiteering. It is pure greed. And Moderna deserves to suffer because they abused our vulnerability..

And therein lies the question. With each pandemic, nations suffered. People suffered.

And government's suffered huge loss in tax collection with increased spending on public welfare. Isn't it more prudent to spend a fraction of those losses on scientific research to prevent a pandemic? Or even own the cure to such a pandemic?