What happened Shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO) were jumping 10.5% as of 11:07 a.m. EST on Friday. The biotech didn't announce any new developments. But Inovio's gain likely reflected some investors' continued optimism as the company now moves ahead with a phase 2 study of COVID-19 vaccine candidate INO-4800. So what Investors usually shouldn't place much emphasis on big gains (or losses, for that matter) on no news the Friday after Thanksgiving. Such moves often are only noise on a historically low-volume trading day. Instead of temporary price swings, what really matters are the company's growth prospects. Image source: Getty Images. Inovio's growth prospects don't depend on just one pipeline candidate. But investors' attention is currently focused heavily on INO-4800. The experimental vaccine's results from phase 2 testing will be extremely important for the biotech stock. Other key programs to watch with Inovio include VGX-3100, which is being evaluated in a late-stage study for treating pre-cancerous cervical dysplasia. INO-5401 appears to have potential in treating glioblastoma muliforme, an aggressive type of brain cancer. The company also recently announced the dosing of the first patient in a phase 1/2 study of INO-3107 in treating recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), a rare disease where noncancerous tumor growths obstruct airways. Now what Inovio is working to resolve remaining questions from the Food and Drug Administration about the Cellectra 2000 device used to deliver INO-4800. Settling these questions will be needed before the company can begin a phase 3 study of INO-4800. Positive phase 2 results will also be necessary to advance the experimental COVID-19 vaccine into late-stage testing. The biotech should have another major catalyst coming next year. Inovio expects to announce results from its Reveal-1 late-stage study of VGX-3100 in the first half of 2021. 10 stocks we like better than Inovio PharmaceuticalsWhen 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 Inovio Pharmaceuticals 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 November 20, 2020 Keith Speights has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source