Moderna Shares Surged 20% on Coronavirus Vaccine Data. Here's What May Drive Them Higher.

Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) shares soared 20% in one trading session on Monday after the company reported positive interim data from its coronavirus vaccine clinical trial. The data is indeed promising -- across all participants in two dosage groups, levels of binding antibodies were at or above levels seen in people who have recovered from the virus. Binding antibodies attach themselves to a pathogen, but they don't stop infection. That's where neutralizing antibodies come in -- and data on that, as well as results from a larger patient group, may be key for Moderna's vaccine, and, as a result, for the company's share price performance.

Moderna might be considered the leader in the coronavirus vaccine race. The clinical-stage biotech company was the first to bring a vaccine candidate into human studies when it began trials in March. The rapidity may be thanks to Moderna's technology. The company doesn't use the traditional vaccination method of introducing a weakened or dead version of the virus into the body. Instead, Moderna's coronavirus vaccine -- like its other investigational products -- uses messenger RNA to give the body's cells instructions to make proteins that would prevent (or in some cases treat) disease.

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Source Fool.com