Vaccine stocks jumped Tuesday after the Food and Drug Administration authorized another round of Covid booster shots for people age 50 and older.
This puts a fourth dose of the messenger RNA shots from Pfizer, with partner BioNTech, and Moderna on the table for millions of people in the U.S. People can receive the second booster four months after the first.
The FDA will also allow immunocompromised people as young as 12 to receive a fourth Pfizer shot.
The decision comes as the B.A. 2 variant, a spinoff from omicron, makes its way around the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the new variant now accounts for roughly 55% of all sequenced cases in the U.S., or cases that are traced directly to B.A. 2. The original Omicron variant accounts for about 40%.
"Emerging evidence suggests that a second booster dose of an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine improves protection against severe Covid-19 and is not associated with new safety concerns," the FDA said in a written statement.
On the stock market today, two of the three vaccine stocks popped. Moderna shares advanced 4.4% to 180.64. Meanwhile, BioNTech stock rose 3.6% to 172.39. Pfizer shares reversed a fractional rise and closed down 1% at 52.74.
Vaccine Stocks: Importance Of Antibodies
It's important to note, vaccines and boosters don't always prevent infection. But the booster shots do generate a fresh group of virus-blocking antibodies. Also, this helps reduce the likelihood of a severe Covid case leading to hospitalization or death.
Pfizer recently conducted a study in 154 health care workers during an omicron wave. Two weeks after the second booster, participants had an 11-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies compared with five months after the first booster shot. Now, the vaccine stock is eyeing a buy point at 55.40 out of a cup-with-handle base, according to MarketSmith.com.
Moderna says it's collecting and monitoring real-world data for its Covid vaccine. So far, evidence confirms the benefit and safety of the vaccine, Moderna said in a news release. Moderna's booster shot is half the size of its primary vaccine series. Pfizer offers another full-sized dose.
Booster doses could help increase the longevity of Moderna's and BioNTech's businesses. Today, the two companies each only have one product on the market: their Covid shots.
Analysts following the vaccine stocks expect Moderna's sales to decline in 2023-24. Further, they see BioNTech revenue sliding this year through 2025.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
