Not everyone lost money in last week’s epic stock market wipeout.
Even as a tide of anxiety over the fast-spreading coronavirus vaporized more than $6 trillion from global equity markets, a select few grew richer.
They all lead businesses that could profit in some way from the virus and proliferating numbers of hygiene-obsessed, housebound consumers.
Moderna Inc. Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel briefly became a billionaire after the company shipped an experimental coronavirus vaccine to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for clinical testing in humans, sending its shares soaring. The stock surged 42%, and Bancel controls a 9.2% stake now worth $790 million, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is working to develop a treatment for the coronavirus, was the best performer last week in the S&P 500, gaining 10%, and it was one of only two companies whose shares climbed during that stretch. That added $45 million to the fortune of George Yancopoulos, chief scientist at the Tarrytown, New York-based company.
The global focus on virus prevention has also enriched Malaysia’s Lim Wee Chai, who owns a controlling stake in the world’s biggest maker of medical gloves, Top Glove Corp. His net worth reached $1 billion shortly after the virus began to emerge as a threat.
As containment efforts threaten to close more schools and businesses, companies that facilitate remote working and studying have gotten a boost.
Virginia-based K12 Inc., which offers educational services for schoolchildren designed for online delivery, jumped 19% last week, adding about $5 million to the net worth of CEO Nathaniel Davis.
Eric Yuan, the founder of Zoom Video Communications Inc., added $200 million on the week, bringing his net worth to $5.5 billion, as the number of users of his video-conferencing service skyrocketed. The San Jose, California-based firm is averaging 43% more downloads this year than in 2019, with most activity within the past month, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Zane Chrane wrote in a research note.
Zoom has lifted time limits for users of its free service in China and has ramped up monitoring of its servers to ensure reliability amid the spike in usage, Yuan said in a blog post Tuesday.
“The growing epidemic has broadened my view on what it means to be a video communications technology provider in times of need,” he wrote.
