There was a renewed optimism in the equity markets yesterday, as hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine increased. The Dow was one of the biggest gainers and closed the day higher by 200 points. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ also closed higher with gains of 1.34% and 0.69% respectively. Biotech stocks working on a COVID-19 vaccine, or a cure, continue to dominate in gains and are among the top gainers in pre-market trading. Some of the big movers ahead of markets opening are as below:

Moderna Inc [NASDAQ:MRNA]

Moderna Inc is one of the top gainers in pre-market trading and is up by 17.16% at the time of going to press. This follows the company’s data that shows hope for an effective COVID-19 vaccine. Data published by the Peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine showed that the company’s vaccine produced antibodies that neutralized the coronavirus in all the 45 patients, who took part in early human safety trials. Moderna is set to start a late-stage trial of this vaccine on July 27^th. Positive sentiment is also driven by the fact that the U.S government is availing billions of dollars to Moderna and other companies for the delivery of 300 million vaccine doses by the beginning of 2021. Considering that the vaccine data came after hours, there is a possibility of the upside momentum continuing when the market opens.

VBI Vaccines Inc [NASDAQ:VBIV]

VBI Vaccines Inc is another biotech stock that is gaining upside momentum pre-market. At the time of writing, the stock is up by 14.86%.  Like Moderna, this stock is also working on a COVID-19 vaccine. In March, it announced that it was working with the National Research Council of Canada to come up with a vaccine. However, its biggest value driver is a cancer vaccine that is still in the works. This stock has been on the rise for weeks now after the company announced that it had observed partial response from its biomarker for cancer treatment. The company stated that there was a positive response in both safety and immunogenicity. With the potential for a vaccine for recurrent glioblastoma, this stock looks poised to stay on investor’s radar for some time.

Immutep Limited [NASDAQ:IMMP]

Immutep Limited is a top gainer pre-market and is currently up by 59.09%. These gains follow yesterday’s announcement that it had been granted a patent for ‘Antibody molecules to LAG-3 and U.S thereof’ by the U.S patent office. The patent is partly owned by Novartis AG and is valid until March 2035. The rally pre-market is an indicator of optimism in the company after this patent.