Moderna, Novavax Stocks Climb Pre-Market On Growing Bird Flu Concerns: Retail Engagement Soars
By Stocktwits Inc | First Published Jan 7, 2025, 7:33 PM ISTThe U.S. government has been preparing for potential outbreaks, awarding $306 million last week for avian flu preparedness.
Shares of Moderna, Inc. and Novavax, Inc. jumped premarket Tuesday, rising as much as about 6% and nearly 8%, respectively, as retail investors turned their focus toward vaccine makers amid growing concerns about bird flu.
Brookline Capital Markets analyst Leah Cann suggested that the increased attention on these stocks could be linked to the latest health worries that have sparked fears of another pandemic, according to Reuters.
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On Monday, the United States reported its first human death from H5N1 bird flu in Louisiana. While most of the other 65 known U.S. cases have been mild, a severe case in Canada has further heightened alarm.
The U.S. government has been preparing for potential outbreaks, awarding $306 million last week for avian flu preparedness, including monitoring and testing farmworkers.
Moderna received $176 million from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in 2023 to develop its updated mRNA H5N1 vaccine, currently in early-stage testing.
Novavax, meanwhile, has conducted pre-clinical tests on vaccines targeting multiple H5N1 strains, but updates on its progress remain limited.
U.S.-listed shares of Germany’s CureVac N.V. jumped 8% in premarket trading. CureVac is collaborating with GlaxoSmithKline on a bird flu shot.
On Stocktwits, Novavax and Moderna were among the top 10 trending tickers, with Novavax receiving an ‘extremely bullish’ sentiment score, while Moderna’s sentiment was ‘neutral’.
Both companies have had mixed fortunes recently. Moderna’s shares lost 58.2% last year, while Novavax gained about 68%.
Over the past week, Novavax stock has gained over 8% while Moderna stock has risen more than 6%.
As avian flu concerns rise, these vaccine makers are likely to remain in the spotlight among investors.
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