4 Top Health Care Stocks Worth Watching Now
Health care stocks have and continue to make headway in the stock market now amidst the current pandemic. From firms directly dealing with the global coronavirus outbreak to day-to-day health care providers, investors have plenty of options. For starters, investors appear to be reacting positively to the latest findings on the Omicron variant. While this may just be preliminary data, the variant appears to be more tamed in terms of severity than initially expected. Even so, some of the biggest names in the health care industry are already looking for solutions.
In fact, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ: VIR) provided a crucial update on this front earlier today. Namely, data suggests that their coronavirus vaccine, sotrovimab, retains effectiveness against the Omicron variant. On top of that, the duo also notes that the drug is also effective against “all other variants of concern defined to date by the WHO”. At the same time, there seems to be no shortage of newcomers in the industry as well. As of today, Alvotech, an Iceland-based biopharma firm, is now looking to go public via a $2.25 billion SPAC deal. With all that said, could one of these health care stocks be worth watching in the stock market today?
Best Health Care Stocks For Your December 2021 Watchlist
- Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD)
- Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX)
- Cellectis (NASDAQ: CLLS)
- Intellia Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA)
Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc.
First up, we have Acadia Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. It has been at the forefront of health care, bringing vital solutions to people who need them most. Also, the company has developed and commercialized the first and only approved therapy for hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis. Specifically, its late-stage development efforts are focused on dementia-related psychosis, negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and Rett syndrome. ACAD stock currently trades at $21.42 as of 2:26 p.m. ET and is up by over 10% on today’s opening bell so far.
Investors are likely responding to news that the company posted yesterday. Diving in, Acadia announced positive top-line results from its pivotal Phase 3 Lavender study. The study evaluated the efficacy and safety of trofinetide in 187 girls and young women aged 5-20 years with Rett syndrome. The 12-week placebo-controlled study demonstrated a statistically significant improvement over placebo for both co-primary endpoints. Given this piece of information, will you consider watching ACAD stock right now?
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Novavax Inc.
Novavax is a health care company that develops vaccines to counter serious infectious diseases. Through the discovery and commercialization of innovative vaccines, the company has developed experimental vaccines to combat Covid, seasonal influenza, RSV, Ebola, MERS, and SARS. Its NanoFlu vaccine, for instance, is a quadrivalent influenza nanoparticle vaccine that has met all primary objectives in its Phase 3 clinical trial in older results. NVAX stock currently trades at $179.82 as of 2:26 p.m. ET and is up by over 26% on today’s opening bell.
On Tuesday, the head of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) says that it could soon approve the Covid vaccine developed by Novavax. Earlier in the month, the company also announced a statement for its Omicron variant response. It is conducting ongoing studies to evaluate multiple variants and is encouraged by its current and ongoing data. The company will also begin testing whether antibodies from previously vaccinated individuals can neutralize the Omicron variant, with lab-based data expected in the coming weeks. With the excitement surrounding Novavax, is NVAX stock worth adding to your portfolio right now?
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Cellectis SA
Following that, we have Cellectis, a biopharmaceutical company that develops genome-edited chimeric antigen receptor T-cell technologies as a form of cancer immunotherapy. In essence, it is pioneering the concept of off-the-shelf and ready-to-use gene-edited CAR T-cells to treat cancer patients. It also has a platform to achieve therapeutic gene editing in hemopoietic stem cells for various genetic disorders. CLLS stock currently trades $9.43 as of 2:27 p.m. ET.
Last month, it expanded a collaboration with Cytovia Therapeutics of TALEN gene-edited iPSC-derived (induced pluripotent stem cells) Natural Killer and Chimeric Antigen Receptor Natural Killer cells to include new CAR target and development in China. “We are pleased to expand the collaboration with Cellectis to enable Cytovia to develop iNK products that will leverage the high-precision of TALEN® to perform gene-editing to minimize the risk of off-target effects and unlock the full potential of NK cells as a first line of defense against cancer,” says Cytovia CEO Dr. Daniel Teper. All things considered, is CLLS stock worth buying today?
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Intellia Therapeutics Inc.
Another name to consider in the health care world now would be Intellia Therapeutics. For the most part, Intellia is a leading clinical-stage genome editing company. Through its groundbreaking work with CRISPR/Cas9 tech, the company aims to develop gene-editing therapies. The likes of which Intellia conducts tests on via two key approaches. Firstly, its in vivo program employs CRISPR treatments that are injected directly into patient bloodstreams. Secondly, Intellia’s ex vivo efforts involve the use of CRISPR to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases via engineered cells. Technical details aside, investors appear to be keen on NTLA stock now.
Evidently, the company’s shares currently trade at $119.74 as of 2:27 p.m. ET. This would be after gaining by over 110% year-to-date. Regardless, Intellia does not seem to have plans to slow down anytime soon. As of late November, the company revealed plans to expand its ongoing Phase 1 study NTLA-2001. Through this expansion, Intellia will be opening up enrollment into the trials for NTLA-2001 to “adults with Transthyretin Amyloidosis with Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). CEO Dr. John Leonard notes that ATTR is a “chronic, fatal disease” that impacts vital organ function. Could all this make NTLA stock worth keeping an eye on for you?
