Why 2 Key Stocks Plunged in Premarket Trading Wednesday

The stock market looked poised to take a brief pause on Wednesday morning, consolidating some of the recent gains it has seen. Major stock market benchmarks remained near their all-time highs, but futures markets posted modest declines ahead of the regular trading session. As of 8 a.m. EDT, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) were down 15 points to 35,308. S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) futures had fallen 3 points to 4,509, and Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) futures had declined 5 points to 15,394.

A couple of stocks saw particularly large drops in premarket trading Wednesday. Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) has shown a lot of promise with its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, but the company had to deal with some unexpected news that raised new concerns for shareholders. Meanwhile, Brinker International (NYSE: EAT) released early financial results that showed some of the headwinds the restaurant industry continues to face.

Shares of Novavax were down almost 25% on Wednesday morning. The move followed reports late Tuesday that the company is having difficulties in producing its COVID-19 vaccine.

Source Fool.com