Michael Hiltzik: Raking in profits, Moderna denies government scientists credit for the COVID vaccine

While much of the world was sent into a panic by the sudden emergence of the Omicron variant of the COVID virus, Moderna Inc. weathered the shock pretty well.

Indeed, its shares have gained more than 25% in value since the World Health Organization labeled the microbe a "variant of concern" and gave it a greek-letter designation on Friday.

That includes a 12% gain on Monday, the first full trading day since Thanksgiving, and a retrenchment of about 7% during Tuesday's trading.

The obvious reason for the gain is that as a manufacturer of one of the two leading COVID-19 vaccines, Moderna stands to make a tidy profit from the resurgent crisis.

The firm recorded about $10.7 billion in revenue and more than $7.3 billion in profit from its vaccine in the first nine months of this year, and expects $17 billion to $22 billion in sales from the product next year.

Moderna's chief executive, Stéphane Bancel, said Monday.