Hantavirus cases spark surge in pharma and biotech stocks — here’s why

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Several pharmaceutical stocks surged on Monday as investors assessed which company might be best primed to tackle an outbreak of the hantavirus.

The World Health Organization flagged an outbreak of hantavirus, a fatal and viral respiratory disease spread by rodents, on May 2, after some passengers caught it on a Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship, the MV Hondius, which was sailing the Atlantic.

The public health risk for the virus is low, according to the WHO and other health authorities have noted that human transmission is rare. Here’s how the outbreak has led to a rally in certain pharma and biotech stocks.

Biotech firm Moderna