3 Health Care Stocks For Your Watchlist This Week
For investors wondering if the stock market is open today, the answer to that is a no. However, as markets attempt to move forward from an overall downbeat week, health care stocks could come into focus. After all, the broader stock market will be coming off its worst week since 2020 following widespread sell-offs. In times such as these, most investors would either be asking one of two questions. That would be if it is a good time to buy stocks, or which long-term stocks to invest in now. Regarding the latter, some would argue that health care stocks remain a possible go-to.
For one thing, there remains plenty of notable news emerging from the health care space now. Take the latest updates from Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) on its vaccine for example. Just last week, the company’s Nuvaxovid COVID-19 shot was provisionally registered in Australia. This would be for use in individuals over the age of 17 as a booster dose. Furthermore, as of last Friday, Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine has emergency use authorization over in Taiwan. This follows approval from the Taiwanese regulator.
Aside from pandemic-related news, industry heavy-hitters such as AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) continue to draw attention as well. Late last week, its risankizumab-rzaa drug candidate now has U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval as a treatment for Crohn’s disease in adults. Simply put, risankizumab-rzaa now has its third indication as a treatment for moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease. Notably, this would make it the first in its class to receive FDA approval. On top of that, it would also mark the second FDA approval for the drug just this year. Evidently, there are plenty of exciting updates to keep up with among health care stocks. With that in mind, could one of these stocks be your next big investment?
Health Care Stocks To Buy [Or Sell] This Week
- Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA)
- Merck & Company Inc. (NYSE: MRK)
- Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT)
Moderna
Moderna is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on RNA therapeutics. Notably, this includes its focus on its messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. In essence, this type of vaccines uses a copy of a molecule called the mRNA to produce an immune response. The company, as of 2022, has over 40 treatment and vaccine candidates. Out of which, more than half have entered clinical trials. This would include vaccine candidates for influenza, HIV, and Nipah virus among others.
On June 17, 2022, the company announced that it has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA for its Covid-19 vaccine in young children ages 6 months through 5 years of age. This comes after receiving EUA for its vaccine for children ages 6 through 11 years. “We are thrilled that the FDA has granted Emergency Use Authorization of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents, particularly for our vulnerable, youngest children,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “Children need to live highly social lives to develop and flourish. With this authorization, caregivers for young children ages 6 months through 5 years of age finally have a way to safeguard against COVID risks in classroom and daycare settings.”
Earlier in the month, Moderna also announced new clinical data on its Omicron-containing bivalent Covid-19 booster candidates. Named mRNA-1273.214, it contains a vaccine candidate targeting the Omicron variant of concern. A 50 µg booster dose of mRNA-1273.214 met all pre-specified endpoints including superior neutralizing antibody response against the Omicron variant one month after administration when compared to the original vaccine. All things considered, is MRNA stock worth investing in right now?
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Merck & Co.
Following that, we have Merck, a multinational pharmaceutical company with over 130 years of experience. It is a premier research-intensive company that delivers innovative health solutions. Solutions that advance both prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. Recently, a Wall Street Journal report announced that Merck is considering the acquisition of oncology-focused biotech firm Seagen (NASDAQ: SGEN). The report cites people familiar with the matter that both companies have been in discussions about a potential deal.
Last week, Merck announced that the FDA has accepted the review of a new supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) seeking approval for its Keytruda treatment. Keytruda is for the adjuvant treatment of patients with stage IB, II, or IIIA non-small cell lung cancer. The sBLA is based on positive data from its Phase 3 KEYNOTE-091 trial. If approved, Keytruda would be the first adjuvant immunotherapy-based option in the U.S. for patients with stage IB to IIIA non-small cell lung cancer following surgical resection regardless of PD-L1 expression.
On June 7, 2022, the company also announced one piece of news together with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. Diving in, the companies have published additional data from the Phase 3 trial evaluating Lagevrio. Lagevrio is an investigational oral antiviral medicine to treat mild to moderate Covid-19 patients who are at high risk for progressing to severe disease. Based on the post hoc analysis, fewer patients required respiratory interventions after taking the drug. Given this piece of information, should investors be paying attention to MRK stock?
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Abbott Laboratories
Abbott is a global health care company that provides life-saving medical devices and diagnostics. Its portfolio of technologies covers diagnostics, medical devices, nutritional, and branded generic medicines. On June 10, 2022, the company announced a quarterly common dividend of $0.47 per share, marking the 394th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Abbott since 1924.
Recently, it announced late-breaking data for its MitraClip, the world’s first transcatheter edge-to-edge repair device. It also announced TriClip, another first-of-its-kind minimally invasive tricuspid heart valve repair device. The data reinforce the capabilities of the company’s structural heart solutions for both mitral and tricuspid regurgitation across a broad range of patient groups battling leaky heart valves.
Earlier this month, the company also reported that it is developing a new bio wearable that can continuously monitor glucose and ketone levels in one sensor. The system has secured breakthrough device designation from the FDA, which is designed to expedite the review of innovative technologies that can improve the lives of people with life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions. The glucose-ketone sensor will be the same size as Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 sensor, the world’s smallest continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensor, and will connect to Abbott’s digital ecosystem, including personal and caregiver mobile apps and cloud-based data management software for remote monitoring by healthcare professionals. Given all of this, should you consider buying ABT stock?
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