Shares of Moderna Inc. MRNA, 4.02% were up 2.9% in premarket trading on Thursday after the company again reminded investors that the Phase 3 clinical trial for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is fully enrolled as part of its third-quarter earnings announcement. It also said it is “actively preparing for the launch” of its COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna is a preclinical company, meaning it does not yet have an authorized or approved product available on the market. It is developing several mRNA-based vaccines, including one for the coronavirus. The company said its research and development expenses have nearly tripled to $344.5 million in the third quarter of 2020, primarily due to R&D costs for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, compared with $119.6 million in the same quarter a year ago. Moderna said it plans to conduct two interim analyses for the late-stage trial of the vaccine. Moderna’s stock has gained 236.1% so far this year, while the S&P 500 SPX, 0.66% is up 1.2%.
Moderna’s stock is up as it says it is ‘actively preparing’ for launch of COVID-19 vaccine
