The stock price of Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) following news that critical COVID-19 vaccine data from late-stage trials would be released in the coming days.

Moderna shares closed at $87.81 each, up by 6.51% on Thursday. It gained a bit more during the extended trading to $88.04 per share.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts company will be the second major pharmaceutical firm to develop a viable coronavirus vaccine. Earlier this week, Pfizer and BioNTech touted preliminary results showing a vaccine effectiveness rate of 90%.

On Oct. 29 Moderna told investors it was on track to roll out a global vaccine after successfully enrolling 30,000 participants in its late-stage trial. The company expects at least 53 people in the trial will contract the virus which is the minimum number of cases for an independent data safety monitoring board.

Brad Loncar, a biotech investor and chief executive officer at Loncar Investments told CNBC that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is a sign of good fortune for Moderna since it uses a variant of messenger RNA or mNRA utilized to provoke an immune response. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it would approve a vaccine with 50% effectiveness that is safe.

“We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen,” Pfizer Chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla told reporters on Monday.

Loncar added that Moderna's stock will most likely stay stable even if their vaccine's effectiveness rate is less than that of Pfizer-BioNTech. “It’ll still go up if the number is real close [to Pfizer’s], he explained. “But if it is significantly lower than that, then I do think it could be a problem.”

While Pfizer has touted their effectiveness rates, it is worth mentioning that the data is only preliminary and the vaccine itself still needs approval from necessary regulatory authorities. Moderna will be forced to undergo the same stringent oversight process.

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