Moderna shares jump on $1.5 billion US contract for Covid-19 vaccine

Shares of Moderna Inc rose more than 5 per cent on Wednesday after analysts said a $1.5 billion coronavirus vaccine supply agreement with the US government could lead to similar deals with other countries.

The United States and Moderna announced the agreement for 100 million doses of its potential Covid-19 vaccine late on Tuesday.

The company's vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, is one of the few that have already advanced to the final stage of testing.

The deal confirms Moderna's experimental vaccine is one of the leading contenders, said BMO analyst George Farmer, who has an "outperform" rating on the stock.

With the US contract now