Moderna shares soar after report that its Covid shot works against Delta variant
Story highlights
The shares rose as much as 6.9 per cent to $238.40, breaking through the prior intraday record set earlier this month. The trading volume was about 1.2 times the 10-day average as of 12:16 p.m. in New York, reports Bloomberg.
The stock of Moderna Inc. has climbed to a record high amid growing concern about a contagious variant of Covid-19 in nations including India.
The company said its vaccine produced protective antibodies against the Delta variant first found in India. The highly contagious variant is spreading in several countries, leading to fresh lockdowns. Moderna also became the first foreign vaccine to be approved by India.
Both developments helped in the company's shares to soar. The shares rose as much as 6.9 per cent to $238.40, breaking through the prior intraday record set earlier this month. The trading volume was about 1.2 times the 10-day average as of 12:16 p.m. in New York.
Few analysts had expressed concern about Moderna’s recent surge. This had pushed the company’s market value past $95 billion.
The vaccine stocks for Moderna and BioNTech SE have surged over the past 12 months. Shares of BioNTech hiked around 250 per cent while Moderna gained nearly 280 per cent during the period.
India's drug regulator DCGI has granted permission to Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company Cipla to import. Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use in the country.
Moderna's vaccine will be the fourth COVID-19 jab to be available in India after Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik.
"Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted permission to Cipla to import Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use in the country as per the provisions of the New Drugs and Clinical Trial Rules, 2019 under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940," a source told PTI new agency.