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Shot Down: Vaccine stocks tumble with RFK Jr. as Health Secretary

Shot Down Vaccine stocks tumble with RFK Jr. as Health Secretary

Over the last few months, much has been said and even more has been speculated on when it comes to how the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election will impact the economy, both global and domestic, as well as wider economic conditions.

Discussions ranged from how close personal relationships, like in the case of Elon Musk,  will impact specific stock prices now that Donald Trump has become President-elect, to how a potential implementation of the real estate mogul’s tariff plan could reshape the macroeconomic environment.

Now, as Donald Trump is beginning to nominate people for high-level government positions, his choices are already having impactful effects on particular sectors. 

In the late hours of November 14, the soon-to-be 47th President nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former independent presidential candidate and key Trump ally to be the next United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), publicizing his choice through an X post.

The immediate aftermath of the decision saw vaccine stock prices experience significant drops on account of Kennedy’s well-publicized views on vaccination.

Biontech and Novavax are the hardest hit — and Moderna is not far behind

Of all the affected companies, German biotech venture BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) saw the largest drop. BNTX stock dropped by 11.02% when accounting for the post-market trading session. 

At the time of publication, BNTX shares were trading at $103.56, and the latest price decrease brought year-to-date (YTD) losses to 7.82%.

BNTX stock price daily chart. Source: Google Finance
BNTX stock price daily chart. Source: Google Finance

Maryland-based vaccine maker Novavax Inc (NASDAQ: NVAX) experienced the second-largest drop — shedding 8.66% of its price over the course of November 14 and the post-market trading session. This latest move has brought prices down to $7.22 per NVAX share and YTD returns down to 43.54%.

NVAX stock price daily and YTD charts. Source: Google Finance and Finbold
NVAX stock price daily and YTD charts. Source: Google Finance and Finbold

Pharmaceutical and biotech venture Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) plummeted by 6.61%, down to $39.77 from a daily high of $42.08. With this move to the downside, MRNA stock is deep in the red — with YTD losses standing at 64.65%.

MRNA stock price daily and YTD charts. Source: Google Finance and Finbold

Interestingly enough, Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE), which co-developed the most widely-used COVID-19 vaccine together with BioNTech, experienced a comparatively small drop in stock price compared to its peers. 

PFE stock retreated from $26.65 to $25.47 at press time, marking a 4.4% loss.

PFE stock price weekly chart. Source: Finbold
PFE stock price weekly chart. Source: Finbold

Pfizer had previously failed to successfully capitalize on its pandemic success and is currently trading at prices last seen in March of 2013.

Featured image via Shutterstock

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