Here's Why Moderna Slipped Lower Today
Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) are down 11% at 12:39 p.m. EST after the company priced its secondary offering at $19 per share, allowing the biotech to raise approximately $500 million. The company could get an additional $75 million or so if the underwriters exercise the 30-day option to purchase additional shares.
Shares of Moderna closed at $21.35 yesterday, so it's not surprising that they would take a hit today. Buyers of secondary offerings typically seek a discount to the current price because selling the additional shares results in dilution.
With shares well off their lows of last year, it's a fairly good time for the biotech to raise additional capital, considering the company's pipeline is only in the very early stages of the drug-development marathon. Management was shooting for having $1.2 billion in the bank at the end of last year -- it hasn't released fourth-quarter financials yet -- but that won't be enough to get it to the finish line since its burn rate is likely to increase as the pipeline progresses.
Source Fool.com
