Shares of (NASDAQ: MRNA) were sinking 9% lower this week as of Thursday's market close, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The decline appears to be the result of investors taking profits after Moderna stock soared 25% last week.

What's behind the big moves for Moderna? Avian flu. Reports of human cases of H5N1 avian flu (also known as bird flu) in Australia and the U.S. caused several vaccine stocks to jump last week.

The sell-off in Moderna's shares was even worse early on Wednesday with the stock falling as much as 13.9%. However, Moderna rebounded somewhat after The Financial Times reported that the U.S. government is close to finalizing a deal to fund a late-stage clinical study of Moderna's experimental messenger RNA (mRNA) bird flu vaccine.

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Source Fool.com