Are These The Best Biotech Stocks To Buy In December 2021?
As biotech companies keep making news, could biotech stocks be the best stocks to watch in the stock market today? For the most part, some would argue that this is the case now. After all, the world is facing a new Covid-19 variant. On Tuesday, BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) CEO Ugur Sahin said that its vaccine will likely offer strong protection from the Omicron variant, saying that “there’s no reason to be particularly worried”. Of course, biotech companies are not only making strides in developing new vaccines and drugs against Covid-19. These companies have other drugs in the pipeline to treat diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to different types of cancers.
For example, ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: IMGN) on Tuesday announced positive data from a trial evaluating its drug candidate mirvetuximab in ovarian cancer patients. The drug candidate appears to deliver clinically meaningful benefits and could be transformative for ovarian cancer patients. Elsewhere, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) said last month that the European Commission has approved its REGEN-COV antibody cocktail for Covid-19. With these innovations in the biotech sector, could these biotech stocks be worth watching in the stock market now?
Best Biotech Stocks To Watch In December 2021
- Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX)
- Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIR)
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
- Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK)
- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE)
Novavax
Novavax has always had its eyes on creating vaccines for infectious diseases. The biotechnology company’s research areas include Ebola and influenza, and now it adds Covid-19 to the mix. Novavax’s vaccine is another upcoming name in the fight against Covid-19. The company has now filed for authorizations or approvals in Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, Singapore, and the U.K. for its vaccine candidate. It also plans to apply for the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of the year. Safe to say, getting the EUA could give a boost to NVAX stock.
Novavax reported revenue of $178.8 million for its latest quarter, up by 13.9% year-over-year. The company said that it achieved a manufacturing capacity of 100 million doses per month at the end of this quarter, and is on track to achieve a capacity of 150 million doses per month by the end of the year. The company also completed enrollment for its Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of its combination vaccine in Australia. With its commitment to developing vaccines, could NVAX stock be a top biotech stock to buy in the stock market right now?
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Vir Biotechnology
Vir Biotechnology is trending in the news amidst the Omicron variant scare. The biopharma company and its partner GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) are the co-developers of a prospective treatment for Covid-19. Called sotrovimab, the injection-based treatment has shown good efficacy in Phase 3 trials aimed at the Delta variant. The FDA granted sotrovimab the EUA in May this year. This month, the US government signed contracts worth about $1 billion for doses of sotrovimab. Globally, other governments have also granted authorization for usage of the drug, ordering doses of the treatment for domestic use. These countries include Australia, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.
During the third quarter, Vir brought in $103.62 million in revenue, an astounding rise of 5274.3% year-over-year. The company managed to deliver over 50,000 doses of sotrovimab in the latest quarter. It also has secured binding sales agreements to deliver more than 420,000 doses globally. The biopharma company also started trials for its chronic Hepatitis B virus treatment. Taking these developments into account, would you be watching VIR stock?
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Johnson & Johnson
Next up, we have Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Its one-dose Janssen Covid-19 shot is among the three vaccines widely administered in the country. The corporation also expects to file for approval of 14 new drugs by 2025. JNJ however recently unveiled plans to split the corporation into two. One division will concentrate on its consumer products while the other will focus on its pharmaceutical products. The split will lead to the creation of two separate publicly traded companies. Now, investors could be asking themselves if JNJ stock is worth picking up before the breakup.
JNJ posted $23.34 billion in revenue for its latest quarter results, up by 10.7% year-over-year. The corporation said that it sold $502 million of its Covid-19 vaccine in the latest quarter. It added that the sales outlook for the vaccine for 2021 is at $2.5 billion. Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky said that the results demonstrated solid performance across the corporation, adding that it was helped by the robust performance of its pharmaceuticals arm. Keeping that in mind, would you be buying JNJ stock?
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Merck
Merck is another name to consider in the current pandemic-focused biotech trade. The pharmaceutical company’s antiviral pill to treat Covid-19 has been endorsed by an FDA advisory panel on Tuesday. The pill, called molnupiravir, was developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. It now needs final authorization from the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before it is available to the public on an emergency basis. Additionally, molnupiravir has already been approved in the U.K. Through an agreement, the country is purchasing 480,000 courses of the orally-administered drug.
Merck’s third fiscal quarter results showed its revenue to be at $13.2 billion, up by 20% year-over-year. The company’s HPV vaccine Gardasil recorded $2 billion in sales, a 68% increase year-over-year. The company also expects between $5 billion and $7 billion in sales of molnupiravir through 2022. With that said, will you be adding MRK stock to your watchlist?
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Pfizer
Last but not least is global biotech company, Pfizer. The company is known to the world for its Cominarty vaccine, jointly developed with BioNTech. Accordingly, the company is making news again amidst the Omicron variant news. Namely, Pfizer recently announced that its drug candidate, Paxlovid, could potentially work against the new variant. The pill’s design means that it does not attack the virus itself, but blocks an enzyme that plays a key role in its copying process.
Could Pfizer retain the strong momentum it has built during the pandemic? Its latest quarterly revenue came to $24.1 billion, up by 130% year-over-year. The company remains on track to deliver 2 billion doses of its vaccine to low- and middle-income countries by the end of 2022. Besides, it is reported that the company and BioNTech are expected to apply for regulatory approval for a booster shot of their coronavirus vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds by the end of the week. Considering all these, could PFE stock be the best biotech stock to buy in the stock market?
