Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson: How Are Covid Vaccine Stocks Doing?

Our indicative theme of Coronavirus Vaccine stocks – which includes a diverse set of U.S. based pharma and biotech stocks that are working on Covid-19 vaccines –  is up by about 730% year-to-date, on an equally weighted basis, compared to the S&P 500 which has gained just about 4% over the same period. These companies continue to progress with trials and clinical data for some of the late-stage studies likely to trickle in from as early as this month. Below is a bit more on the companies in our theme of Coronavirus Vaccine stocks and relative performance.

Novavax (NVAX), a late-stage biotechnology company engaged in vaccine development has seen its stock surge by over 2,600% year to date, driven by its Covid-19 vaccine development work. The stock is up 200% since the end of 2018. In late September, the company’s vaccine candidate entered Phase 3 efficacy trials in the United Kingdom.

Moderna (MRNA), a clinical-stage biotech that is carrying out phase 3 trials of a Covid-19 vaccine, has seen its stock rally 260% this year but remains down by about -24% from its July highs. The company has indicated that it could seek emergency approval for its vaccine candidate from the FDA around November 25, at the earliest. (Related: How much could a Covid-19 vaccine add to Moderna’s EPS?)

MRNA

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced recently that it was entering the final Phase 3 stage of its Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial, seeking to enroll up to 60k participants in the U.S. and abroad. The company is targeting a single-shot vaccine. The stock is up by about 4% year-to-date and is up by about 20% since 2018. (Related: Is Johnson & Johnson a better bet than Merck?)

Pfizer (PFE) the pharma major, which is working with German partner BioNTech on a Covid-19 vaccine, is down by -3% year-to-date. The stock is also down by about -10% since 2018. Phase 3 testing for the vaccine began in the U.S. in July and the company expects to have early data on efficacy around the end of October. (related: Pfizer looks less expensive compared to Roche)

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