Do You Have These Top Health Care Stocks On Your Watchlist This Month?
There have been mixed sentiments over the broader stock market over the past month. While many stocks are trading near record-high levels, there are also rising fears of the impact of the fast-spreading delta variant. Naturally, this has led the focus of investors back to health care stocks. With the seven-day average of newly reported cases reaching nearly 95,000 in the U.S., the concern is not unwarranted. So, the preliminary data from Novavax, Inc (NASDAQ: NVAX) yesterday is a huge welcome. The company demonstrated that its single COVID-19 booster dose increases fourfold in neutralizing antibody levels versus peak response after primary vaccination.
Meanwhile, there was also a positive report from South Africa regarding Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ) single-shot coronavirus vaccine. Those who received the vaccine showed a remarkable up-to 96.2% protection against death compared to the control group. Well, as vaccine companies ramp up their efforts in combating the pandemic, it is not surprising that investors are keeping close tabs on the industry. If you are one of them, then here is a list of top health care stocks to watch in the stock market today.
Best Health Care Stocks To Watch In August 2021
- Editas Medicine Inc (NASDAQ: EDIT)
- Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA)
- Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: ARCT)
- STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA)
Editas Medicine Inc
Editas is a genome editing company. It engages in treating patients with genetically defined diseases by correcting their disease-causing genes. Also, the company is developing a genome editing platform based on clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology. EDIT stock has been up by over 30% just within the past week. Let us see what may have contributed to this movement.
On Wednesday, Editas announced its second-quarter earnings report and business update. Before diving in, it is noteworthy that the company has no approved product at the moment. Hence, the key focus would likely be on its pipeline developments.
It seems that the company has made significant progress in its clinical and preclinical programs while advancing its underlying gene-editing platforms.
Put simply, the company’s BRILLIANCE trial for EDIT-101 is now enrolling the first pediatric and adult high-dose cohorts. Investors can expect a presentation by the company on its first clinical data next month. Meanwhile, its RUBY trial of EDIT-301 for sickle cell disease is screening its patients and the first dose on its first patient could be by the end of this year. Overall, it appears that everything is going on track and there may be more exciting news to come. So, would you be watching EDIT stock?
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Moderna Inc
Next up, we have Moderna. So, we all know the company has made a name for itself through the coronavirus vaccine, but what else does it specialize in? Essentially, the company engages in transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). Its therapeutics and vaccine development programs span infectious diseases, oncology, cardiovascular diseases, and rare genetic diseases. Well, now that we are seeing the spike in COVID-19 cases again, the MRNA stock seems to be back in focus.
Yet again, the company posted another strong financial quarter this year. Moderna’s total revenue for the fiscal second quarter spiked to $4.4 billion, from a mere $67 million for the same period last year. As expected, $4.2 billion of its revenue was due to the sales of its COVID-19 vaccine. Besides that, its net income was $2.8 billion compared to a net loss of $117 million. With the resurgence of cases lately, it may not be the worst idea to bet on the company’s stock.
Furthermore, Moderna has also announced that the U.S. FDA has granted Fast Track designation for its mRNA-1345. This is an investigational single-dose mRNA vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in adults older than 60 years old. RSV may be quite common, but it can be serious especially for infants and adults. The Fast Track granted underlines the urgent need for RSV vaccines and Moderna has stepped up to the challenge remarkably well. With all these in mind, would you consider investing in MRNA stock?
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Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc
Following that, we have another company that engages in mRNA medicines, Arcturus. In summary, it engages in the development and commercialization of therapeutics for rare diseases and vaccines. The company’s technologies include Self-Transcribing and Replicating RNA (STARR) and lipid nanoparticle delivery system (LUNAR). ARCT stock has soared by over 70% within the past week.
On Tuesday, the company received approval for a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA). This approval will enable the advancement of two STARR™ mRNA vaccine candidates into the clinic. The Phase 1/2 clinical trial will evaluate the vaccines both as a primary vaccination series and as a booster following initial vaccination with Comirnaty®. Safe to say, the strong price action over the past week is largely due to this recent development.
On top of that, the company also collaborated with Vinbiocare Biotechnology to establish a manufacturing facility in Vietnam. This facility will be used for the manufacturing of Arcturus’ investigational COVID-19 vaccines. With this, it would hopefully accelerate the company’s role in providing another safe coronavirus vaccine to the world. All things considered, is ARCT stock a top health care stock to watch now?
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STAAR Surgical Company
We have STAAR Surgical to sum up the list. This company specializes in implantable lenses for the eye and delivery systems used to deliver the lenses into the eye. Naturally, it operates in the ophthalmic surgical market segment. The company’s Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) can be found in over 75 countries around the world. In fact, more than a million ICLs have already been implanted to date.
STAA stock has been trending in the health care industry recently. It has risen over 20% over the past week. As expected, this is driven by its impressive second-quarter earnings update reported on Thursday. STAAR reported a record quarterly net sales of $62.4 million, up 77% year-over-year. Meanwhile, its net income was $0.17 per share compared to a $0.03 net loss per share the prior-year quarter. Naturally, this massive improvement would not go unnoticed by keen investors.
Most importantly, its Global ICL units are receiving positive responses around the world. According to the company, 99.4% of its patients claim that they would have the ICL procedure again if given a choice. Overall, we are also seeing record growth in its ICL units. Its global ICL unit growth increased 79% year-over-year and achieved positive sales and unit growth in all of its major markets. Given these exciting developments, should you add STAA stock to your watchlist?
