Could These 5 Stocks Benefit From the Coronavirus Outbreak?

The novel coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, is set to dominate headlines -- and investing trends -- again this week. Underscoring this point, the number of confirmed cases now exceeds an eye-popping 40,000 globally, and the death toll has officially surpassed that of the SARS epidemic 17 years ago.

While most U.S. equities are likely to react poorly to the continued spread of 2019-nCoV, biotech companies racing to develop treatments for this novel strain of coronavirus may, in fact, get a healthy boost from this rapidly developing healthcare story in the coming week.

Which biotech stocks should investors have a close eye in the days ahead? BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX), Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD), Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO), Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA), and Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) could all make big moves this week on the coronavirus threat. Here's what investors need to know right now.