Should Investors Be Buying These Biotech Stocks Right Now?
Biotech stocks have skyrocketed on the stock market this year. This is definitely no surprise as biotech companies are the leaders in the charge against the coronavirus pandemic. Even in light of Pfizer’s (PFE Stock Report) vaccine being the first to roll out in the U.K., investors and biotech companies alike know that the race is far from over. To elaborate, the price of vaccines is not very high. At current estimates, Pfizer’s vaccine should cost about $39 a patient across the necessary two-dose regimen. Essentially, this means top biotech stocks will have to focus on supplying more units to whoever wants to buy from them to profit.
Although advanced market commitments (AMCs) are where the money is at, there are key limiting factors to consider. Namely, biotech companies are still limited by how many doses they can make at a given time. In fact, an ongoing investigation by Duke University last month found that nearly 3.8 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have already been purchased via AMC agreements. It is important to note that with pioneer vaccine candidates requiring at least two doses, this number is far from enough for the global population. To put things into perspective, it would take an estimated 15.6 billion doses of vaccines to vaccinate the entire world. Unfortunately, even Novavax (NVAX Stock Report) with one of the largest manufacturing capacities can produce only about 2 billion a year.
Aside from coronavirus vaccines, other illnesses should not be overlooked as well. The biotech industry is still making waves and innovating in fields related to cancer, dementia, genetic diseases, and so on. Given the above, investors will likely face the challenge of discerning the right ones to buy. Regarding this, here is a list of top biotech stocks to watch this month.
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Top Biotech Stocks To Watch In December: Fate Therapeutics Inc
To say that Fate (FATE Stock Report) has had a good year is indeed an understatement. The company’s share prices are up by a phenomenal 330% year-to-date. This would definitely warrant a closer look at Fate. It is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies. Fate’s developmental pipeline mainly consists of cell-based therapies for cancer and immune disorders.
In its recent quarter fiscal released in November, the company saw a massive 211% leap in total revenue year-over-year. Fate has also had a busy quarter with a total of 17 abstracts to be presented at prestigious conventions. These include the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting; and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting. All this is great for a company that focuses on innovating and pushing new ideas in its field. The company appears to have a wide number of projects on its development pipeline at the moment which could mean long-term growth potential.
Investors may be wondering about the cause of all the commotion surrounding FATE stocks recently. The answer to this lies in Fate’s recent Phase 1 results for its FT516 treatment. FT516 is the company’s experimental cancer immunotherapy which just produced very positive interim data for its early tests last week. To elaborate, the combination of FT516 with cancer medication Rituximab was able to effectively and safely treat patients suffering from refractory B-cell lymphoma (a blood cancer). Of the four patients in the study, three saw notable tumor shrinkage while two of the patients saw full cancer remissions. With these early groundbreaking developments, do you think FATE stock will continue to flourish going into 2021?
Top Biotech Stocks To Watch In December: Moderna Inc
No list of top biotech stocks in 2020 would be complete without Moderna (MRNA Stock Report). It is undeniably a leading player in the fight against the coronavirus with its vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273 yielding a 94.1% efficacy rate in its Phase 3 trial. It focuses primarily on drug discovery, drug development, and vaccine technologies based exclusively on messenger RNA (mRNA). Impressively, Moderna’s share prices are up by over 700% year-to-date.
In its recent quarter fiscal posted in October, Moderna saw a colossal 826% year-over-year jump in total revenue, primarily due to an increase in grant revenue. Additionally, the company also announced its entrance into the seasonal flu vaccine business. Even in such a busy time, the company is still looking to push innovation on different fronts. Moderna appears to be firing on all cylinders and investors appear to be very keen to see what it does next.
On top of all this, Canada has doubled its initial AMC for Moderna’s vaccines to 40 million doses. The country’s faith in Moderna’s vaccine candidate bodes well for it indeed. Moderna has initiated the review process with Health Canada and is looking to obtain Emergency Use Listing (EUL) with the World Health Organization. Time will tell if the company’s vaccine proves its worth. All things considered, do you think MRNA stocks are worth buying now?
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Top Biotech Stocks To Watch In December: AstraZeneca plc
Last but not least, we have AstraZeneca (AZN Stock Report). This company is another notable player in the race to vaccinate the world. With its vaccine candidate, AZD1222, producing an efficacy of 70%, it has been in the spotlight since late November. Unlike the other companies on the list, AstraZeneca has a large portfolio of products already in the market. These include treatments for major disease areas such as cancer, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neuroscience, respiratory, and inflammation.
To point out, its share prices are up by over 40% since the stock market crash in March. In its recent quarter fiscal release in November, AstraZeneca reported a 2% rise in revenue year-over-year and a 116% rise in net income in the same period. To investors’ delights, its diluted earnings per share rose sharply by 113% year-over-year. Admittedly, the public perception of the company’s vaccine candidate was somewhat unclear earlier on. This is due to a difference in results across differently dosed groups in its trials. However, as AstraZeneca has more time to refine its vaccine, it will likely aim for its 90% efficacy seen in one of its trial groups. This could present an exciting opportunity for investors to buy on the dip.
In recent news, the first few million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccines have already been manufactured in the Netherlands and Germany. This is part of its planned rollout in the U.K. With plans to deliver by the end of the year and two key facilities having been set up, it could be the beginning of a busy time for the company. Seasoned and new investors alike could be keeping a close eye on AZN stock which is reasonably priced compared to other players in the industry. Could it be the right time to invest in AstraZeneca? You decide.
