Hazmat Suit Company Goes Wild

Traders think people are going to need hazmat suits to ward off Ebola.

Lakeland Industries, which makes hazmat suits and other industrial protective gear, has seen shares gain more than 40% since the first case of Ebola was confirmed in the US last Tuesday.

In afternoon trade on Tuesday, the stock was up nearly 20%.

Shares of a number of drugmakers. including Tekmira, BioCryst, and Chimerix, have been rallying as the virus has spread throughout the summer. Each of these companies is working on a cure for Ebola, but to date the most popular experimental treatment for the virus is manufactured by privately-held Mapp Pharmaceuticals.

Tekmira's TKM-Ebola has been used to treat at least one patient, but according to the AP the supply of that drug remains limited.

In contrast shares of some travel-related companies have been hurt by fears that Ebola will hamper international travel, with a number of European airline and cruise stocks falling after officials confirmed that a nurse in Spain contracted the first case of Ebola outside of West Africa.

Here's a chart showing the recent moves in Lakeland stocks as Ebola news has broken over the last week or so.