Nasdaq Rises on Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine Hopes -- at Inovio's Expense

The COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for most of the uncertainty facing investors right now. Even though the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) has gained ground during the global health crisis, large segments of the U.S. economy could remain under threat until a permanent solution to the coronavirus is developed and widely distributed.

Investors are therefore looking to pharmaceutical and biotech companies in hopes that one or more will provide the tools needed to beat the pandemic. On Wednesday morning, the Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq-100 indexes both rose, largely because of favorable news from Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) on the vaccine front. However, for every winner there are losers, and rival Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO) was among the morning's worst performers.

Shares of Moderna were up by as much as 11% Wednesday morning after the clinical-stage biotech announced the latest information from its phase 1 study of mRNA-1273, its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate. Investors were pleased with the results, which confirmed earlier indications about mRNA-1273's potential.

Source Fool.com