Vax makers’ stocks soar on potential

Shares of Moderna and BioNTech both skyrocketed on Monday amid growing enthusiasm over technology used in their coronavirus vaccines and its potential to help fight other ailments like cancer and malaria.

Monday’s rally came after BioNTech told investors on an earnings call that it’s pushing forward with plans for human trials for flu and malaria vaccines — as well as for cancer treatments.

The trials will rely on messenger RNA technology, or mRNA — a new type of vaccine used to protect against the coronavirus that may also have the potential to solve challenges in vaccine development for other infectious diseases and cancer.

Both BioNTech and Moderna currently use mRNA technology in their coronavirus vaccines.

Shares of Massachusettsbased Moderna soared 17 percent, to end the day at $484.47, while Germany’s BioNTech closed 14.9 percent higher, at $447.23.

BioNTech also reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $6.24 billion in second-quarter sales compared with analysts’ expectations of $3.83, according to Investors Business Daily. The company expects to deliver a whopping 2.2 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine this year.

The potential to cure ailments that kill millions of humans each year has left investors salivating. BioNTech stock has risen an eye-watering 422 percent since the beginning of 2021, while Moderna stock is up 333 percent, according to MarketWatch data.

Pfizer, which developed a coronavirus vaccine alongside BioNTech, saw its shares climb a far more modest 1.5 percent on Monday.