90-Second Read: Hantavirus cases spark surge in pharma and biotech stocks — here’s why

The outbreak of Hantavirus on a cruise ship has led to biotech and pharmaceutical stocks surging on reports of firms developing vaccines. Several pharmaceutical stocks surged on Monday as investors assessed which company might be best primed to tackle an outbreak of the Hantavirus. The World Health Organization flagged an outbreak of Hantavirus, a fatal and viral respiratory disease spread by rodents, on May 2, after some passengers caught it on a Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship, the MV Hondius, which was sailing the Atlantic. Here's how the outbreak has led to a rally in certain pharma and biotech stocks. These efforts are early-stage and ongoing and reflect Moderna's broader responsibility to develop countermeasures against emerging infectious diseases." Evercore ISI said last week that it is unlikely to be a revenue.

Meanwhile, vaccine development firm Inovio Pharmaceuticals jumped 11% in early trading, while biotech firm Novavax was up 5%. It should be fine." The Hantavirus strain in this case is the Andes virus, which is the only species that can cause transmission between humans, according to the WHO. WHO's Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday that eight cases have been reported so far, with three deaths, and five of the cases confirmed as Hantavirus. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), reflecting the ongoing regional impact of these pathogens," it said in a statement shared with CNBC. As a heavily retail-trafficked name, [Moderna] tends to trade on outbreak headlines well beyond the underlying commercial implications," Evercore analysts said in the note published on May 7.

The public health risk for the virus is low, according to the WHO and other health authorities have noted that human transmission is rare. Biotech firm Moderna, which developed one of the main Covid-19 vaccines, was last up 7% in premarket trading after it said it was conducting preclinical research on the virus. With regards to current headlines, we see no meaningful revenue opportunity." "Hantavirus is a low-incidence, structurally small market, and we view any potential outsized moves as sentiment-driven, not fundamental. Passengers and crew have begun disembarking under strict health protocols, with authorities coordinating testing, isolation, and repatriation efforts across multiple countries as they continue to monitor the spread of the virus. At most, it reinforces Moderna's mRNA platform agility, something already well understood post-COVID," they added.

The MV Hondius has now docked in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, after spending several days offshore awaiting clearance. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. President Donald Trump addressed the situation on Friday, saying that the cruise ship outbreak is under control and that a report on the virus would follow soon. It's very much, we hope, under control," Trump told reporters Thursday. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.