What happened
Shares of Ocugen (OCGN -2.55%) were trading 12% higher as of 11:15 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The company didn't announce any new developments.
However, reports of increasing new COVID-19 cases in various parts of the world appear to be fueling investors' optimism about the prospects for COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin. China is now experiencing its worst COVID-19 outbreak since 2020, and yet another coronavirus wave could be beginning in Europe.
So what
You might wonder why Ocugen's shares are rising on news from China and Europe when the company only owns the rights to market Covaxin in the U.S. and Canada. The answer is that what's happening in other regions can be predictive of what's on the way in terms of COVID-19 cases in North America.
But Ocugen seems to be an outlier among vaccine stocks. Shares of Moderna, Pfizer, BioNTech, and Novavax were all trading lower Tuesday. So why is it behaving differently from its peers?
Perhaps the best explanation is that Ocugen is much more of a speculative play at this point than those other vaccine stocks. It's certainly more of a long shot in the U.S. now that the door for a potential Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Covaxin has been slammed shut. Speculative stocks often move higher on any news that could increase their chances of success.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Ocugen still has an opportunity to win approval for Covaxin in Canada. The company submitted responses to a Notice of Deficiency from Health Canada related to its regulatory filing, and awaits a decision by the agency. Ocugen also plans to soon begin a clinical study in the U.S. that domestic regulators are requiring before they will consider authorizing Covaxin for adult use.
