Do You Have These Biotech Stocks On Watch This Week?
Biotech stocks are once again in focus as we open another week of trading on the stock market. With the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing, this would be the case. If anything, you could say that the biotech industry is at the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19. Positive news regarding vaccine development can send the company’s shares skyrocketing. As such, investors have been flocking to the top biotech stocks as of late.
Understandably, most would be attracted by the massive rallies seen in some of the best biotech stocks. The industry is home to some of the fastest-growing stocks. For starters, you have coronavirus vaccine companies such as Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) and Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA). The two have skyrocketed in share price over the past year. Furthermore, other parts of the industry also continue to innovate as well. Whether it is common conditions like allergies or serious diseases like cancer, the biotech industry is working to solve it. All this adds up to create a fairly interesting pool of stocks for eager investors to choose from.
As the coronavirus pandemic saw many new traders jumping into the stock market, it can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. Given the recent ‘meme’ stock craze started by Reddit users, it is easy to feel like risks are higher now. Well, as we often say at StockMarket.com, proper research and due diligence go a long way. With that in mind, here is a list of the top biotech stock to watch this week.
Top Biotech Stocks To Buy [Or Sell] Now:
- Ocugen Inc. (NASDAQ: OCGN)
- Cassava Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA)
- Nemaura Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: NMRD)
- Veru Inc. (NASDAQ: VERU)
Ocugen Inc.
Biopharmaceutical company, Ocugen, is a biotech stock in focus right now. Lately, investors have been watching OCGN stock thanks to a recent update on its coronavirus vaccine division. The company’s shares are up by over 400% year-to-date.
Last Tuesday, Ocugen revealed that it had finalized a collaboration with Bharat Biotech, an India-based biotech company. Through this collaboration, the duo will work towards bringing COVAXIN, Bharat’s coronavirus vaccine, to the U.S. market. Particularly, Ocugen will be in charge of all the U.S.-based operations, from clinical development and regulatory approval to commercialization. Should COVAXIN receive emergency use approval (EUA) in the U.S., Ocugen will receive 45% of the sales profits. Crucially, Ocugen would not be working from scratch. This is because COVAXIN received a EUA in India and Phase 3 trial results are currently being analyzed. If Ocugen plays its cards right, OCGN could be looking at even more gains down the line.
That’s not all, according to the company, COVAXIN could “induce more broad immunity”. To elaborate, this means that it could offer more protection against emerging variants of the coronavirus which would be valuable in the long run. With Ocugen already in talks, and having just made a stock offering to raise funds, it could be a busy year for the company. Do you think this makes OCGN stock a buy?
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Cassava Sciences Inc.
Next up, we have Cassava. The company focuses on discovering and developing treatments for neurodegenerative illnesses. To point out, the company has been under the microscope since early February thanks to updates on its Alzheimer’s treatment. Just this month, SAVA stock has more than tripled in value with surges following updates on February 2 and February 8 respectively.
Diving right into, the company’s first announcement last week involved interim results from its study on simufilam. Simufilam is Cassava’s lead drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Significantly, the results suggest that patient’s cognition and behavior improved after being treated with the drug for six months. Admittedly, the company expected simufilam to help stabilize patients’ cognitive capabilities. CEO Remi Barbier said, “An improvement in cognition and behavior tells us this drug candidate has the potential to provide lasting treatment effects for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. It’s an exciting development.”
Following that, the company announced “significant program progress” for its current work on simufilam. This involves a phase 3 clinical trial for the latter half of 2021 with expanded patients and broader scopes of study. Could this ambitious play benefit SAVA stock? That depends on how Cassava plays its cards.
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Nemaura Medical Inc.
Another biotech company on the radar now would be Nemaura. The medical technology company creates non-invasive and minimally invasive wearable diagnostic devices. Remarkably, its products are powered by artificial intelligence capabilities for comprehensive digital healthcare. For one thing, its continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices cater to the current pandemic-induced digital healthcare wave. Interestingly, NMRD stock popped by over 58% at yesterday’s opening bell. Some believe that it is another target of the Reddit trading frenzy we saw last month with GameStop (NYSE: GME). Nevertheless, the company has been hard at work lately as well.
Last week, Nemaura appointed two industry veterans with over 50 years of experience between them to its management board. First, the company brought on Jay Warner as its new Head of the U.S. Commercial Operations. Warner brings 30 years of deep experience in developing and commercializing wearable medical devices. Next, the company also appointed Thomas Mortensen as its Head of E.U. Commercial Operations and Marketing.
Similar to Warner, Mortensen has over 25 years of experience in marketing for the medical device industry. It seems that Nemaura is fortifying its commercial operations on the local and international fronts. Do you think this makes NMRD stock worth investing in?
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Veru Inc.
Topping off our list is oncology biopharmaceutical company, Veru. Primarily, it focuses on making novel medicines for the management of prostate and breast cancer. Notably, the company’s VERU-111 (the drug) prostate cancer drug has put VERU stock in the limelight this week. The company’s shares jumped by over 27% during intraday trading yesterday on account of the drug’s latest update.
Namely, the drug was found to significantly reduce instances of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in high-risk COVID-19 patients. In detail, Veru reported that the drug reduced patient mortality by 81%. Moreover, the company also reported that daily oral dosing with the drug was well tolerated with no treatment-related adverse effects. Given how positive these developments are, I can see why investors were eager to jump on VERU stock.
Moving forward, CEO Mitchell Steiner said, “We have the resources to conduct a Phase 3 trial without impacting our cancer drugs’ clinical development. We look forward to our upcoming discussion with FDA concerning the regulatory and clinical development steps to move VERU-111 for COVID-19 forward.” Besides, Veru has been granted an expedited meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to discuss the next steps. Ideally, this will result in Phase 3 clinical study by April with results in Q4 2021. All things considered, will you be adding VERU stock to your portfolio?
