Stocks - Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp pops on Ebola news
(5 day chart)
When a stock jumps like this and you don't know why, a thorough check of the news usually finds the answer. This company is working on a cure for Ebola. (The reason for the pop now was the news that the first Ebola case was discovered in the US.-- in addition to the fact that's its spreading unexpectedly rapidly in Africa).
Investing (and gambling) in the stock market is basically about prediction. Predicting how a particular company will do in the future-- and predicting how overall economies (& sectors of economies) will do.
People buying this stock are "predicting" at least two things:
1. That the outbreak will increase (or at least continue) at the present rate.
2. That the drug this company is working on will be successful.
If it is a huge success, even people buying it at this elevated price might make a lot of money. Of course the really smart people bought it on Sept 29 or 30 or before that...
(I did not buy it and don't intend to-- of course I could be wrong, but IMO at this point it is probably not a good investment and very risky- among other reasons).
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Many investors will also look to see how the outbreak would effect other market sectors other than drugs. For example, if it gets bad enough, there might be a shut-down of all flights to Western Africa. If this happens and lasts for a while, it would be a blow to the airline sector.
One commentator mentioned buying stocks in teleconferencing machinery manufacturers....
While of course most people invest to make money (or think that's why they do it) many look at it as a challenge-- predicting future events (or trends) and then making money that way.
Never did buy this one.
Another speculative biotech that looks interesting: BCLI