3 Top Biotech Stocks To Watch This Week
When looking for what stocks to buy in the stock market, investors could be turning towards biotech stocks once again. For one thing, the biotech industry is home to countless companies hard at work on the healthcare industry’s greatest problems. These range from the coronavirus pandemic to cancers of all kinds and even rare and genetic diseases among many others. Because of this, investors would have a wide variety of biotech stocks to choose from.
Now, it is important to know that most emerging biotech stocks are often prone to bouts of volatility. This would be the case as biotech companies often gain large bursts of attention for key clinical updates on their development pipelines. For example, we could look at the likes of Ocugen (NASDAQ: OCGN). Sure, the company mostly researches gene therapies for curing blindness. But, it is also collaborating with Bharat Biotech, an Indian biotech peer that manufactures and markets the COVAXIN coronavirus vaccine. Thanks to this manufacturing partnership, key updates regarding COVAXIN have already driven OCGN stock up by over 130% year-to-date.
Meanwhile, for investors looking to invest in less speculative plays, large-cap biotechs are also a viable play. Take Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) for instance. The global biopharmaceutical company boasts a massive portfolio of prescription drugs and advanced treatments. With the company offering more consistent gains in the form of dividends, even star investors like Warren Buffett are now holding positions in the company. Overall, there is likely a biotech stock suited for most investment strategies out there. On that note, here are three to consider in the stock market today.
Best Biotech Stocks To Buy [Or Sell] Now
- Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA)
- Intellia Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA)
- AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV)
Moderna Inc.
To begin with, we have one of the leading coronavirus vaccine companies now, Moderna. By now, most would be familiar with the biotech company as it continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic from the front lines. In brief, Moderna mainly focuses on developing vaccine tech based on messenger RNA (mRNA). Through its platform, Moderna inserts synthetic mRNA into human cells which then teach the immune system how to fight against diseases. More importantly, MRNA stock is currently sitting on gains of over 290% in the past year. This would mostly be because of its success on the coronavirus vaccine front.
Similarly, MRNA stock could be in focus again this week as the company’s vaccine received another positive update. Over the weekend, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) approved Moderna’s vaccine candidate for emergency use in the region. Notably, it is the fifth vaccine to receive said approval. This would serve to further expand Moderna’s addressable markets while also helping to speed up the inoculation rates in the UAE.
By and large, this is a win for Moderna. Why? Well, similar to many countries across the globe, the UAE is also seeing an increase in the Beta, Delta, and Alpha variants. Fortunately, Moderna’s vaccine candidate recently showed promise in a lab setting against all of these variants. In a news release posted last week, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said, “These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants.” Given all of these exciting developments, would you consider MRNA stock a top biotech stock to own now?
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Intellia Therapeutics Inc.
Another name making headlines in the biotech world now would be Intellia. For the uninitiated, Intellia primarily develops biopharmaceutical treatments using the revolutionary CRISPR gene-editing system. In detail, the CRISPR system boasts the ability to identify and edit specific genes inside cells. Within the world of biotech, this tech would serve to treat and screen for genetic diseases. Now, NTLA stock would be in focus thanks to Intellia’s massive breakthrough on the gene-editing front. Evidently, the company’s shares have already skyrocketed by over 110% in the past month as a result.
Diving right into it, Intellia announced that it had completed its first systematic delivery of a CRISPR-based treatment into the human body. The progress of this ongoing collaboration with fellow biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) marks an industry first. The target disease in this round of trials is transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis, a rare, progressive disease situated in the liver that can be fatal if untreated. According to Intellia, the NTLA-2001 treatment “has the potential to halt and reverse” the complications brought about by ATTR amyloidosis. Not to mention, these results were reportedly achieved via the administration of a single dose. CEO John Leonard also believes that these results possibly indicate that Intellia’s modular platform could treat a “wide array of other genetic diseases” down the line.
While these initial results are encouraging, the company will still have to go through rigorous clinical testing. Leonard explained in an interview with CNBC that Intellia hopes its treatment can be made available to patients “very, very soon”. Time will tell if Intellia can make the most of its ground-breaking tech moving forward. In the meantime, will you be adding NTLA stock to your portfolio?
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AbbVie Inc.
Last but not least, we have AbbVie. For some context, the Illinois-based biotech company focuses on the discovery and development of innovative medicines. The likes of which aim to impact a wide array of therapeutic areas across AbbVie’s portfolio. These include but are not limited to the fields of immunology, oncology, virology, neuroscience, and eye care. Across its current portfolio, AbbVie currently markets and distributes over 32 drugs in the U.S. Given the scale and variety of AbbVie’s work, ABBV stock could be a go-to for biotech investors today.
Despite its impressive portfolio, the company does not seem to be resting on its laurels just yet. Last week, AbbVie revealed that its treatment for Ulcerative Colitis (UC), upadacitinib, met all of its primary and secondary endpoints set in a one-year-long Phase 3 study. According to AbbVie vice-chairman Michael Severino, the results demonstrate the drug’s potential as a treatment option for patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. Now, to highlight, patients with UC often experience random yet severe bouts of inflammation in the large intestines. Should this be left untreated, there are cases where complications such as cancer may arise as well. As such, there would be a market for upadacitinib now.
Additionally, AbbVie continues to gain momentum on the financial front as well. In its latest quarter fiscal posted back in April, the company raked in a total revenue of $13.01 billion. This indicates a significant 50.95% year-over-year surge. As AbbVie continues to expand its offerings, would you consider ABBV stock a top buy now?
