Better Coronavirus Stock: Inovio Pharmaceuticals or Novavax?

Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO) and Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) were hardly household names at the beginning of 2020. But due to their efforts to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus, both biotechs have grabbed headlines over the past several months. In turn, astute investors looking to profit from the market opportunity have drastically bid up shares of both companies.

Novavax's stock is the better performing of the duo year to date. The stock is up about 2,510%, while Inovio's share price is up 244.8%. That's a significant difference in growth given that Inovio's market cap started the year at $334.5 million and Novavax started at $128.8 million. Investors should note that it is far easier for much smaller-cap companies' shares to skyrocket. But both of these companies started relatively small at the beginning of 2020, and they've earned wildly different stock price growth. (By comparison, the S&P 500 has recouped its losses and climbed about 8.54% since Jan. 1.) With the race to launch a coronavirus vaccine on the market intensifying, the next four months will be critical for Inovio and Novavax. Let's investigate their business activities over the past few months and decide which is the most likely to outpace the other moving forward.