Airline stocks are flying high on Monday following news about a recent study of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
Interim results come from Moderna’s (NASDAQ:MRNA) Phase 3 study of its coronavirus vaccine mRNA-1273. These results showed that the treatment had a statistical significance in preventing the virus.
The primary endpoint of the study was for preventing patients from contracting the virus. This saw five people receiving the vaccine contract the virus, as compared to 90 cases in the placebo group.
A secondary endpoint of the study behind the positive airline stocks news measured the severity of the infection. In this case, there were 11 severe cases. None of those cases were from patients receiving the coronavirus vaccine.
Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, said this about the news.
“We look forward to the next milestones of submitting for an EUA in the U.S., and regulatory filings in countries around the world, while we continue to collect data on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in the COVE study. We remain committed to and focused on doing our part to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.”
So why exactly is this news sending airline stocks higher today. Airlines have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic as people avoid travel. That includes Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL), and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL). The sooner vaccines become available, the more likely it becomes that the economy will get back to normal, which means more passengers for flights.
MRNA stock was up 5.9%, DAL was up 3.1%, UAL was up 5.4% and AAL was up 3.8% as of Monday morning.
On the date of publication, William White did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
