Should Investors Be Focusing On These Health Care Stocks?
Health care stocks have been back in focus recently in the stock market. Unsurprisingly, this came with the rising concern of the Delta variant of coronavirus. Even health officials in the U.S. are preparing to distribute booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine. As it stands, it has been established that immunity starts to wane after the initial two doses with the dominance of the Delta variant. Dominant vaccine companies such as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) are wasting no time in researching the need for booster shots.
JNJ claims that it is currently engaging with the FDA, CDC, and other health authorities and will share new data shortly regarding its booster dose. Meanwhile, Moderna remains confident in its vaccine efficacy as it claims that its vaccine remained 93% effective in the first six months after the second dose. Overall, governments around the world are on high alert to prevent the pandemic from getting worse. Well, all this bodes well for health care companies as it only further highlights the importance of their products and services. So, would a list of the top health care stocks in the stock market today interest you?
Top Health Care Stocks To Watch Today
- Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE)
- Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE: LLY)
- GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK)
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: REGN)
Pfizer Inc
By now, everyone would be aware of Pfizer for its pivotal role in developing the coronavirus vaccine. That said, some may not know that it also offers biopharmaceutical products worldwide in various therapeutic areas that include cardiovascular, metabolic, pneumococcal diseases, and many others. PFE stock has been up by over 30% since the start of the year.
On Monday, the company and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) announced that they have submitted Phase 1 data to the U.S. FDA to support evaluating a booster dose of the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine. Also, these data will be submitted to other regulatory authorities in the coming weeks. The data suggests that the third dose of vaccine elicits antibody levels that significantly exceed those with just two doses. Vaccination remains our most effective means of combating coronavirus infection and Pfizer is not wasting any time in improving its vaccination regimen.
Furthermore, the company has also gained approval from the FDA for its TICOVAC™ (tick-borne encephalitis(TBE) vaccine). This is for active immunization to prevent TBE in individuals 1 year of age and older. As of now, TOCIVAC will be the only U.S. FDA-approved vaccine to protect against the TBE virus when visiting or living in TBE endemic areas. With all these in mind, would you consider adding PFE stock to your watchlist?
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Eli Lilly And Co
Following that, we have Eli Lilly and Co. In detail, it is a company that specializes in human pharmaceutical products. Founded more than a century ago, the company is committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs. Among the company’s most notable achievements include being the first company to mass-produce the polio vaccine and insulin.
Just today, the U.S. FDA has approved the company’s Jardiance (empagliflozin) 10mg. The drug is used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death plus hospitalization for heart failure in adults with heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). This new treatment option is critical as approximately half of all people with heart failure will die within five years of diagnosis. So, this marks yet another important milestone for the company in its effort to transform care for adults with heart failure.
Not only that, but the company also gained FDA approval for its rapid-acting insulin, Lyumjev (insulin lispro-aabc injection) 100 units/mL for use in insulin pumps. This is indicated to improve glycemic control in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The Lyumjev label’s expansion to include use in an insulin pump now provides a new choice for people with diabetes. All in all, it has been an exciting week for the company with its string of FDA approvals. Thus, would LLY stock be on the top of your watchlist?
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GlaxoSmithKline plc
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is a multinational pharmaceutical company with a wide portfolio of treatments and drugs. It is a global healthcare company that has developed many life-changing drugs in the last 20 years. For instance, the company was the first to develop the malaria vaccine. It also has legacy products like Amoxicillin, an antibiotic used to treat many bacterial infections.
On Tuesday, GSK announced the U.S. FDA has approved a new indication for JEMPERLI (dostarlimab-gxly). This is a programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) blocking antibody for the treatment of adult patients with mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) recurrent or advanced solid tumors. The drug received accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. So, this is good news for patients with tumors expressing the dMMR biomarker as there is a significant need for new and effective treatments
On top of that, investors should also be aware that the company along with Vir Biotechnology, Inc (NASDAQ: VIR) has signed a Joint Procurement Agreement with the European Commission to supply up to 220,000 doses of sotrovimab. The drug is used for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 who do not require oxygen supplementation and are at risk of progressing to severe COVID-19. Considering these developments, would you invest in GSK stock?
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Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc
To sum up this list, we have a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the treatment of serious medical conditions, Regeneron. It commercializes medicines for eye diseases, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and has product candidates in other areas such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and many other infectious diseases. Since the start of the year, REGN stock has risen by over 30%.
With its strong fundamentals throughout the years, Regeneron continues to post healthy financial results. For its second quarter, the company posted revenues of $5.14 billion, an increase of a whopping 163% year-over-year. Furthermore, its net income skyrocketed to $3.1 billion, representing an increase of 245% year-over-year. The strong quarter is largely due to the company delivering its entire order of COVID-19 antibody cocktails to the U.S. government.
Regeneron also received a boost from its Phase 3 trial of Libtayo (cemiplimab-rwlc) combined with chemotherapy. Significant improvement in overall survivability in patients with first-line advanced non-small-cell lung cancer has allowed the trial to stop early. It appears that the combination increases the median overall survival to 22 months compared to 13 months with chemotherapy alone. So, the decision to stop the trial early was based on a recommendation by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee. Overall, this is a step in the right direction and investors could be expecting more positive news ahead. Given all these, would REGN stock have more room to run?
