Forbes: Moderna stock rallies by over 12%

PanARMENIAN.Net - Moderna stock rallied by more than 12% since a July 19 update and remains up by almost 50% over the last month, Forbes reports.

The gains are driven largely by the inclusion of the stock into the S&P 500 index from July 21, which, in turn, drove demand from index funds and likely from managed funds that are benchmarked to the S&P 500. Moreover, Covid-19 cases have also been trending steadily higher as the highly infectious Delta variant of the virus spreads, putting vaccine makers back in the spotlight. Over the last two weeks, the seven-day trailing average of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. has risen from around 32,000 to 78,000.

Major businesses across the U.S., including Walmart WMT +1.1% and Disney DIS -1.5%, have been mandating vaccinations as a condition for workers to return to the office. Educational institutions, hospitals, and local governments have also announced similar policies, and this should make more people come forward to get vaccinated, boding well for vaccine makers. Separately, research is also showing that protection provided by Covid-19 vaccines begins to wane after several months, making a strong case for booster shots. While we initially expected a decline in vaccine sales from 2022 onward, the declining immunity, coupled with the spread of new and more infectious virus variants, indicate that the Covid-19 shots could become a recurring revenue stream for Moderna through the coming years.