What a difference a year makes for Moderna

A 23,650% first quarter 2021 revenue increase makes clear the level of fiscal impact a successful coronavirus vaccine can have.

Moderna (Nasdaq: MRNA) has gone from zero to $1.7 billion in revenues, with an additional $200 million or so in grant money from the US government and others - up from around $4 million in first-quarter 2020.

Overall revenues were a little below what most analysts had forecast, and the firm has been faced with manufacturing setbacks. Like other novel coronavirus vaccine developers, Moderna has striven to hit ambitious production targets from a standing start.