Moderna logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Patrick Wingrove

(Reuters) -Moderna lowered the top end of its 2025 revenue forecast by $200 million on Thursday, citing weaker-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. as Americans struggled to access the shots.

The company said it now expects revenue of $1.6 billion to $2 billion for the year, down from its previous forecast of $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion.

However, Moderna's shares climbed 5% premarket after the company reported third-quarter revenue of $1 billion, a 45% drop from a year ago, but ahead of analysts' estimates of $886.54 million, according to LSEG data.

Moderna reported a quarterly loss of 51 cents per share, far smaller than analysts' expectations of a $2.11 loss. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based vaccine maker posted a profit of 3 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Luca Issi called it a "solid" quarter, and the narrowing of annual forecast suggested revenues came in more skewed toward this quarter versus the fourth.

Moderna announced its results as Americans faced confusion and roadblocks at pharmacies, driven by new U.S. guidelines that scaled back broad support for COVID-19 shots, contributing to the lowest vaccination rates since they were introduced.

In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration limited updated COVID shots to seniors and high-risk groups. In September, a revamped group of vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that they be given only after shared decision-making with a doctor, adding a roadblock to easy access.

Pfizer and Gilead Sciences have warned that demand for COVID shots and treatments could slump. Earlier this week, Pfizer attributed falling Comirnaty vaccine sales to lower infection rates and reduced U.S. vaccination guidance.

Moderna Chief Financial Officer James Mock said in an interview that the timing of the CDC recommendation, which came later than expected, played a role in declining U.S. sales.

Mock said the revenue forecast cut was offset by a projected $100 million bump on the lower end of its projected range for sales outside the U.S.

Moderna's COVID shot brought in $971 million in the third quarter, beating Wall Street expectations of $783 million. At its pandemic peak in 2022, the vaccine generated $18.4 billion in sales.

Moderna has been banking on revenue from newer vaccines using mRNA technology, including mRESVIA for RSV and an experimental COVID/flu combination shot, to make up for declining COVID revenue.

But the company reported $2 million in third-quarter sales of the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, well below the $20.9 million analysts expected, as it struggled to compete with Pfizer's Abrysvo and GSK's Arexvy.

Moderna said it was awaiting further guidance from the FDA on refiling for its combo shot, after withdrawing its application in May to wait for efficacy data from a late-stage trial of its influenza vaccine.

Last month, the company said it would stop developing an experimental vaccine to prevent cytomegalovirus, a virus that can cause birth defects, after it failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage trial.

Moderna on Thursday also trimmed its adjusted operating expenses outlook for 2025 by $700 million to a range of $5.2 billion to $5.4 billion.

(Reporting by Patrick Wingrove in New York and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot)