Should Investors Be Watching These 4 Top Biotech Stocks Now?
You can’t deny that 2020 was a banner year for biotech stocks. Sure, they are among the most volatile stocks in the stock market today, but investors have benefitted handsomely from some. Take Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) and Ocugen (NASDAQ: OCGN) for example. Despite both companies not having an approved COVID-19 vaccine candidate yet, their shares continue to flourish. Namely, both shares are currently looking at monumental gains of over 800% in the past year. If anything, this would showcase the appeal of biotech stocks to investors looking to make high-risk, high-reward plays.
If we take a closer look at our earlier examples, we can see that the industry certainly has no shortage of exciting news for investors. On one hand, Novavax recently announced plans to deliver its vaccine to Europe towards the end of 2021. While the company is preparing its vaccine candidate for emergency-use authorization (EUA) in the U.S. it is already looking towards international markets.
On the other hand, Ocugen also recently announced strong results in trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Covaxin. Specifically, findings suggest that Covaxin is effective against coronavirus variants from the U.K. and India. This is but one specific sector of the biotech industry now. With all the focus on biotech lately, I could see new and seasoned investors alike looking for the best biotech stocks. If you are one of them, here are some trending names on the stock market now.
Best Biotech Stocks To Watch This Week
- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE)
- Vaxart Inc. (NASDAQ: VXRT)
- Qiagen (NYSE: QGEN)
- Neuronetics Inc. (NASDAQ: STIM)
Pfizer Inc.
Pfizer is a multinational pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in New York. In brief, the company develops and produces medicines and vaccines for a wide range of medical fields. This includes oncology, immunology, cardiology, and neurology. Impressively, the company had seven ‘blockbuster’ drugs or products that each realized more than $1 billion in revenues. PFE stock is set to open Wednesday’s trading session at $39.95 a share and has been up by over 15% since March. Recently, it was reported that the U.S. FDA is preparing to authorize the company’s vaccine for adolescents aged between 12 and 15 years by early next week. The company has just announced its first-quarter financials today.
To start things off, Pfizer posted a quarterly revenue of $14.58 billion, a 45% increase year-over-year. A chunk of this revenue came from its vaccines segment, at $4.89 billion. Net income for the quarter was a cool $4.87 billion, also a 45% increase year-over-year. The company increased its full-year 2021 guidance as well in light of this strong first quarter. Pfizer expects a topline revenue of $72.5 billion and an adjusted diluted earnings per share to a range of $3.55 to $3.65. Specifically, it now anticipates revenues for its coronavirus vaccine BNT162b2, to be approximately $26 billion. Given all of this, is PFE stock worth adding to your watchlist?
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Vaxart Inc.
Vaxart is a biotech company that focuses on the development and commercialization of oral recombinant vaccines. It has its own proprietary delivery platform and its vaccines are designed to be administered using tablets. The benefits include storage and shipping without refrigeration and it also eliminates the risk of needle-stick injury. VXRT stock closed Tuesday’s trading session at $8.76 and has been up by 12.09% on today’s opening bell. Investors seem to be responding to the company’s news on its oral coronavirus vaccine Phase 1 study Monday.
In detail, Vaxart’s oral vaccine induced higher T-cell responses than those seen with Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) or Pfizer vaccines in a comparative experiment conducted by the company. Higher T-cell responses correlated to protection against the coronavirus disease in this prospective Phase 1 study of first responders. Today, the company also announced that it has enrolled the first subject in a Phase 1b boosting regiment trial of its norovirus vaccine candidate. The vaccine candidate is the only clinical-stage norovirus oral tablet vaccine that is being developed. With so much exciting news surrounding Vaxart, will you consider watching VXRT stock?
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Qiagen NV
Qiagen is a provider of sample and assay technologies for molecular diagnostics, applied testing, and pharmaceutical research. The biotech company serves more than 500,000 customers worldwide and has over 500 core products. The company’s automation platforms are based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR), next-generation sequencing, and other technologies that help create industry-leading molecular testing workflows. QGEN stock currently trades at $47.94 as of Wednesday pre-market. On Monday, the company reported its first-quarter 2021 results.
Firstly, its net sales for the quarter increased by 52% to $567.2 million. The company’s adjusted earnings per share are up by 94% to $0.66. Secondly, its operating cash flow rose by over 700% to $128.6 million and Qiagen also ended the quarter with $82.3 million in cash. The company continues to make multiple product expansions to its non-coronavirus-related portfolio, which includes the launch of a Lyme Disease test. With such impressive financials, would you add QGEN stock to your portfolio?
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Neuronetics Inc.
Another trending player in the biotech industry now would be Neuronetics Inc. For some context, the Delaware-based company specializes in developing psychiatric treatments. Specifically, Neuronetics’ current development pipeline consists of non-invasive treatments for depression and other neurological disorders. Where the company stands out is its approach towards treating psychiatric disorders. Neuronetics relies on neuromodulation tech which helps treat major depressive disorders via “transcranial magnetic stimulation” (TMS). Given the non-invasive nature of its offerings, could STIM stock be a viable investment in the field of mental health treatment? Well, the company’s shares jumped by over 39% during Wednesday’s trading session. Investors could be reacting to a recent market research note posted yesterday.
According to a report by Emergen Research, the Neurostimulation Devices Market could be worth $13.7 billion by 2027. Emergen cites the “growing incidence of health disorders due to unhealthy lifestyle habits” as a key growth driver moving forward. Simply put, neurological disorders such as addictions would be on the rise given the current availability of certain addictive substances. According to the report, this is where key players such as Neuronetics, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), and Nevro (NYSE: NVRO) come into play. On top of this, Neuronetics also reported steady gains in its first-quarter fiscal earlier today. Key highlights include a 30% increase in patient appointments thanks to its new digital media strategies. Given the company’s current trajectory, will you be adding STIM stock to your May watchlist?
