While the coronavirus has walloped the stock market this week, many traders have jumped into a safe haven: small-cap healthcare companies that are fighting the disease. For instance, Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) has been on a tear all year. The tiny biotech started off 2020 with its stock priced at $3.99 a share; now, the stock sells for $16. Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ: VIR) has had a similar rocket ride. The company had a broken IPO last year and it's up 282% in 2020. But the biggest winner has been tiny Co-Diagnostics (NASDAQ: CODX). The Utah diagnostic company started the year as a micro cap. Its stock has had an amazing run in 2020, up 1,353% in two months. Image source: Getty Images. How are the large caps doing? There are probably a dozen healthcare companies that are working on a vaccine or cure for the coronavirus. These include mega-cap names like Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson, and GlaxoSmithKline, as well as larger biotechs like Moderna, Gilead Sciences, and Regeneron. Yet the market has been rewarding these names only slightly, and in some cases, not at all. Stock Price on January 2 Price on February 28 Percentage Return Johnson & Johnson $145.87 $134.48 (7.9%) Sanofi $50.58 $46.25 (8.7%) GlaxoSmithKline $46.81 $40.53 (13.6%) Gilead Sciences $65.53 $69.36 6.3% Regeneron $378 $444.57 19.08% Moderna $19.57 $25.93 34.84% Vir Biotechnology $12.56 $46.50 282% Novavax $3.99 $16 300% Co-Diagnostics $0.90 $13.23 1,353% Chart by author. The small-cap names have done much, much better than the mega caps. For investors looking for a safe haven in the coronavirus meltdown, smaller is probably better. 10 stocks we like better than NovavaxWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Novavax wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2019 Taylor Carmichael owns shares of Novavax. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source