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Shares of Moderna soared as high as 10% on Thursday after the biotech company revealed fourth-quarter sales that were more than double Wall Street estimates. The company also revealed a forecast of $18.4 billion in Covid-19 vaccine sales for 2021. Shares of the drugmaker pared earlier gains to close at $148.38, up about 2.5%.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company reported a loss of $0.69 a share on sales of $570.7 million, double the $0.34 a share on sales of $279.4 million that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

In the same period last year, Moderna lost 37 cents a share and on revenue of $14.1 million.

The drugmaker in the earnings call also announced the September departure of Tal Zaks, its chief medical officer. The company however said it is retaining Russell Reynolds to find a replacement for Zaks "with global and commercial experience."

"Moderna has been changed in a profound way," CEO Stephane Bancel said. "Tal joined us when we were a clinical company, and now we have our own authorized product."

Moderna on Wednesday said it was expecting to produce 700 million doses this year, raising it from its earlier 600 million target, and will attempt to ramp up production to reach as much as 1 billion doses.

In December 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of Moderna's vaccine. It is one of the two authorized in the country. 

Moderna also received emergency authorization for use of its vaccine in Canada, Israel, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, and Qatar.

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