Moderna (MRNA) stock skyrocketed on news of impressive results from its Phase 1 research of a potential drug to combat COVID-19, announced Tuesday – the same day the biotech group disclosed that it would list on the Nasdaq-100 index.  

The stocked rallied as the market opened on Wednesday, trading as high as $87.83, increasing from the previous day's close of $74.04. The stock then settled at around $80 per share at the final bell Wednesday afternoon with a 5-point spike and almost 7 percent climb.

Moderna's candidate drug has shown an induced anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune responses in all subjects and no test-limiting safety worries have been noted. These findings support more development for a potential vaccine, health experts said.

The 45 participants enrolled in Phase 1 clinical test of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 drug were given their first shots between March 16 and April 14.

Moderna had previously reported some results in a media release, but many medical experts stated the findings were not sufficient to draw many conclusions, Stat News reported.

The pharmaceutical firm said it remains consistently on course to produce around 500 million doses of the drug annually starting next year. A phase 2 trial of mRNA-1273 in 600 healthy subjects is currently ongoing. A broader Phase 3 efficacy test is seen to commence in the summer this year, the New England Journal of Medicine said.

Moderna stock has soared by nearly 40 percent in the last two days (including Tuesday's extended sessions), sparked by two promising developments. Firstly, on Monday, the Nasdaq said Moderna would be added as a component of the Nasdaq-100 index starting July 20.

While this doesn't change the basic image for the company, index funds that monitor the Nasdaq will being acquiring the stock. As passive investing gains traction, analysts said this could substantially lift demand for Moderna stock.

Second, Moderna on Tuesday provided more insights on the Phase 1 test of its vaccine candidate mRNA-1273, noting that it was well-tolerated and produced immune responses in trial subjects. Moderna plans to proceed with the drug's Phase 3 trials this month and has suggested it could have inputs from the study around Thanksgiving.

Moderna's common stock started trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Dec. 7, 2018. The stock has ballooned four-fold since the biotech group announced it had delivered the vaccine for a Phase 1 study on Feb. 24 when the stock traded for $18.54, climbing $23.76 on Feb. 25. Moderna's 52-week peak is $88.35, with a low of $11.54.