Catalent gains amid buyout chatter as Moderna extends COVID partnership
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Contract manufacturer Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) stretched recent gains to add ~5% pre-market Tuesday after announcing an agreement with Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) to extend its pandemic-era collaboration.
The disclosure coincided with Catalent's (CTLT) Q2 FY23 results days after Bloomberg reported that life sciences company Danaher (DHR) had shown takeover interest in acquiring it at âa significant premium.â
According to Catalent (CTLT), Moderna (MRNA) has agreed to include multiple products in multiple formats as part of a broader collaboration.
The products will be manufactured at Catalentâs (CTLT) North American and European biologics drug product facilities on top of the fill/finish services and production capacity the company provides to Moderna (MRNA) for its COVID-19 programs.
The companies plan to extend the partnership to non-COVID-19 programs such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, starting with operations at the companyâs Bloomington, Indiana facility.
As for financials, Catalent (CTLT) reported $1.1B in net revenue for the quarter, indicating a ~2% YoY drop on a constant currency basis. Net revenue from the Biologics segment fell ~7% YoY to $580M, and Pharma & Consumer Health segments added $570M with ~3% YoY growth.
Meanwhile, the adjusted net income dropped ~25% YoY to $122M as adj. EBITDA fell ~9% YoY to $283M. 
â...we are improving efficiency with the restructuring actions that we have executed recently, and we are bringing a renewed focus on efficiency across our organization as a whole,â Chief Executive Alessandro Maselli remarked.
Seeking Alpha author Zach Bristow issued a Buy rating on Catalent (CTLT) in January, arguing that despite near-term COVID-related headwinds, âwe see scope for CTLT to unlock long-term value for shareholders.â