What happened
Shares of Moderna (MRNA 3.33%) were jumping 7.5% higher as of 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday. The vaccine maker didn't announce anything that would explain this gain. Instead, Moderna appears to be benefiting from the overall stock market bounce. All of the major market indexes were rising after a key economic metric hinted that inflation could be slowing.
So what
The old adage that "a rising tide lifts all boats" is usually applicable with stocks. Good news for the overall stock market tends to be good news for Moderna.
There's no question that Moderna needed something positive to happen. The vaccine stock has plunged more than 40% so far this year. Moderna's shares have been weighed down by the overall market sell-off. However, the company has its own challenges, as well.
In particular, investors remain concerned about the future demand for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine beyond 2022. Some parts of the world are already experiencing a supply glut of doses of vaccines. As a case in point, Swiss health officials stated earlier today that the country purchased too many doses of Moderna's vaccine.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
There are two key things for investors to watch with Moderna in the near future. The company expects to report initial results on its bivalent COVID-19 booster in June. This vaccine candidate includes Moderna's original mRNA-1273 vaccine and a version that specifically targets the coronavirus omicron variant. Moderna also is awaiting a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Emergency Use Authorization of its vaccine in children ages six months to six years.
