Novavax cuts 2022 revenue guidance in half, stock tanks in after-hours trading

In this photo illustration a silhouette of a man holding a medical syringe and a vial seen displayed in front of the Novavax logo on a screen.

There will be no new Covid vaccine sales in the US or from an international alliance called Covax in the foreseeable future.

The company cut its sales outlook by 50% and now expects to make more money this year. Novavax expected revenue to be between $4 billion and $5 billion.

After hours, Novavax's stock plummeted. The company booked revenue of $186 million but posted a loss of $6.53 per share.

During the company's earnings call, CEO Stanley Erck stated that the company's revenue for the quarter was $186 million, a significant shortfall from the first quarter results. There will be no new revenues from the US or Covax.

According to Erck, Novavax was expecting to sell over 100 million shots in the US and over 350 million shots in Covax. He said that Novavax was late to the market in the U.S.

Novavax received U.S. approval for its Covid shots for adults earlier this summer, but a majority of people in that age group are already fully protected with Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's shots. The US has only ordered a small amount of vaccine.

Novavax has struggled because its shots are not yet approved as a booster for adolescents in the US.

He said that they were hopeful that they could get through this in days and weeks, but that the lack of certain indications slowed the global roll out of the vaccine.

Erck said that the alliance's need for shots from Novavax was limited by a surge in vaccine supply. Covax has a hard time getting its inventory to low and middle income countries.

In the second quarter, Novavax had vaccine sales of $55 million, which is less than in the first quarter. The company had a net loss of $510.5 million in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $352.3 million in the year-ago period. Novavax made its first profit in the third quarter of this year.

One of the original participants in the U.S. race was Novavax. The company received a lot of money from the government. Novavax struggled to get its manufacturing base in place.

Demand for the Covid shots has softened as many people in major markets are already immunized and the public is less interested in the health risk posed by the virus.