Five Chinese Firms Dominate Friday’s Top 10 Gainers

8. Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Pharmaceutical giant Moderna Inc. saw its share prices grow by 5.34 percent on Friday to finish at $35.53 apiece following news that a new coronavirus with pandemic potential was discovered in China.

MRNA traded higher in line with its counterparts Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Novovax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX), with investors repositioning their portfolios on the belief that the newly identified virus could lead to increased demand for vaccines and propel sales.

According to reports, researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology found a new coronavirus strain, HKU5-CoV-2. The strain was found in bats and bears a close resemblance to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and was even closer to MERS, which has a higher mortality rate.

According to the study led by virologist Shi Zhengli, the HKU5-CoV-2 can infiltrate human cells similarly to SARS-CoV-2 and pose a significant risk to humans.