What happened
Walt Disney's (DIS +1.72%) stock surged as much as 15.9% on Monday, following a blockbuster announcement on the COVID-19 vaccine front.
As of 1:21 p.m. EST, shares were up 11.3%.
So what
The media giant's popular new streaming service, Disney+, has added subscribers at a torrid clip during the coronavirus pandemic, as more people have sought out safer home-based entertainment options. In its third-quarter report, Disney said over 60 million customers have already joined the fast-growing streaming service.
Disney's parks and resorts could see traffic rebound in 2021. Image source: Getty Images.
On Monday, Disney's investors received more good news. Pfizer and BioNTech announced their coronavirus vaccine candidate, BNT162b, could be more than 90% effective at preventing COVID-19. Disney's shareholders, in turn, celebrated on hopes that the vaccine would help its parks and resorts -- which have suffered massive losses due to coronavirus-related closures and attendance caps -- recover in the year ahead.
Now what
It should be noted that even if Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine candidate receives regulatory approval, it probably won't be widely available until well into 2021. Still, the promising clinical trial data suggests we could be closer to the end of the COVID-19 crisis than many investors expected. That would be a boon for Disney -- and investors are bidding up its shares in kind.
