A COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech proved to be effective in 90% of study participants
Two drug makers making waves on Wall Street this morning are Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX). An interim analysis of a phase 3 study of tens of thousands of volunteers showed their COVID-19 vaccine candidate was more than 90% effective in participants who were not previously infected with the virus. As a result, PFE and BNTX are up 13.4% and 24.2%, respectively, this morning.
Kicking things off with Pfizer stock, today's positive price action is on track to be its best single-session gain of all time. Previous congestion had occurred at the $39-$40 area, so keep an eye on this level in the coming weeks.
Moving on to BioNTech, the equity has had a decent 2020 to say the least. It's up over 170% year-to-date as of Friday's close, with its ascending 120-day moving average acting as support and capturing most pullbacks over the course of the year. Today's surge could have the shares eyeing their all-time high of $105.
In the options pits, bulls are circling both stocks with ample enthusiasm. In fact, over the last 10 days, PFE and BNTX have seen 152,711 and 1,785 calls exchange hands, respectively, at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). That's compared to 21,154 and 282 puts, respectively, in the same time period, and suggests an unusually healthy appetite for calls at the moment.