Gaining exposure to biotech in times of uncertainty

Omicron variant saw wild price jumps

The end of November saw the largest one-day fall in stock prices globally since June 2020, as investors reacted to the potential economic impact of a possible fourth wave of Covid-19, manifest in the new and ominously named Omicron variant of the Sars-Cov-2 virus.

But the panic selling was not entirely across the board: on the same day, the US biotech firm Moderna, one of three main suppliers of a Covid vaccine, saw its share price jump by 25%, adding a tidy $35bn to its market capitalisation. Moderna is an obvious beneficiary of any new round of pandemic panic, but the extent of the share price reaction was helped by news that it expects to have a new version of its Spikevax product out soon specifically addressing Omicron.  Such wild share price gyrations may be a sign of the times and emphasise the risks of investing in stocks in general, but t...