Looking For The Best Health Care Stocks To Invest In? Here’s 4 For Your Watchlist.
From revolutionary drugs to preventative treatments, the health care industry continues to work on new ways to enrich our lives. Accordingly, investors would have their attention turned towards the top health care stocks because of this. No doubt, most people would consider health a top priority, especially amidst the current pandemic. We only need to look at the likes of coronavirus-focused companies to see that investors believe so too. Take FDA-approved COVID-19 home test kit developer, Lucira Health (NASDAQ: LHDX) for instance. Just this week, LHDX stock is looking at gains of over 20% without any major news from the company.
Speaking of coronavirus-related companies, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is once again making headlines. Namely, this is thanks to the latest updates on its vaccine in an Israeli study. The company revealed data suggesting its vaccine to be 97% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and death. Elsewhere, even non-coronavirus-related companies are making waves right now. Second Sight Medical Products Inc. (NASDAQ: EYES) is currently looking at year-to-date gains of over 300%. This is mainly thanks to a recent FDA approval for its visual implants designed to give blind individuals an artificial form of useful vision. With no shortage of exciting developments, I could understand if you are keen to invest in the sector yourself. To help with that, here are four of the best health care stocks to watch this upcoming week.
Top Health Care Stocks To Watch This Week
- Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX)
- Zoetis Inc. (NYSE: ZTS)
- Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HZNP)
- ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX)
Novavax Inc.
Starting us off is a major contender in the coronavirus vaccine race, Novavax. If anything, the company has been in the limelight over the past year despite not having an FDA-approved vaccine yet. Regardless, Novavax has been hard at work closing supply deals with countries and optimizing regulatory approval processes. With all of this news, NVAX stock has skyrocketed by over 1,900% over the past year. Given the latest vaccine clinical efficacy update from the company, I could see NVAX stock continue its current run.
In detail, Novavax confirmed that its vaccine shows high levels of efficacy against the coronavirus. A final analysis in its U.K. trials indicates a 96% efficacy against the original strain of the virus and an 86% efficacy against the U.K. strain. For one thing, this development comes at a crucial time. This is because researchers in the U.K. recently found that the U.K. variant is 64% more deadly than earlier strains.
If that wasn’t enough, Novavax also found that its vaccine offered 100% protection against severe disease. This suggests that Novavax’s vaccine could help reduce the current strain on the health care system. Overall, this marks another step closer towards FDA-approval for the company. Given these positive developments, could it be a good time to add NVAX stock to your portfolio? I’ll let you decide.
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Zoetis Inc.
Following that, we will be looking at animal health care company Zoetis. The former Pfizer subsidiary is now the world’s largest producer of veterinary drugs. Its main commercial markets involve providing medicine and vaccines for pets and livestock. Additionally, the company also focuses on developing relevant biotech and services for precision livestock farming. In terms of scale, Zoetis serves veterinarians and livestock producers in over 100 countries. Like it or not, Zoetis’ products would play a major role in the upkeep of global food supplies. Could this make ZTS stock worth looking at now?
Looking at its fiscal 2020 earnings posted last month could give us a clearer picture of this. For starters, the company reported a total annual revenue of $6.7 billion. This was followed by a net income of $1.8 billion. CEO Kristin Peck cites the company’s “diverse and durable” portfolio for its performance throughout the year. Moving forward, Peck also mentioned that the company would see accelerated growth thanks to continued strength in the pet care sector.
In line with this, the company also received authorization to market its feline osteoarthritis pain reliever in Europe. According to Zoetis, the disease is prevalent in 40% of cats and its drug could help improve feline quality of life. With rising pet ownership throughout the pandemic, Zoetis’ offerings would be in demand. Does this make ZTS stock a top health care stock? You tell me.
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Horizon Therapeutics
Next, we will be looking at Dublin-based biopharmaceutical company, Horizon. In brief, the company specializes in researching, developing, and commercializing treatments for rare and rheumatic diseases. For investors looking to profit from the rare disease biotech market, HZNP stock would be a notable option. This is because of the company’s two FDA-approved flagship treatments, Krystexxa for chronic gout, and Tepezza for thyroid eye disease. The likes of which, brought in $2.2 billion in revenue for the company last year. Likewise, investors appear to be flocking to HZNP stock as it is looking at gains of over 200% in the past year.
Nevertheless, Horizon is not resting on its laurels just yet. Last month, the company revealed that it would be acquiring Maryland-based biotech company, Viela Bio, for $3.05 billion. To highlight, Viela mainly focuses on producing novel treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Right now, it has four key products in its mid-stage biologics pipeline.
With this move, Horizon would be making a significant expansion to its current portfolio. When you consider the company’s current momentum, this move makes sense. Time will tell if this investment will pay off for Horizon in the long-term. In the meantime, would you consider investing in HZNP stock now?
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ImmunityBio Inc.
ImmunityBio is another health care company on investors’ radars this week. To begin with, it is the result of a newly completed merger between NantKwest Inc. and ImmunityBio Inc. Since Wednesday, the combined company has been operating as ImmunityBio and trades under the ticker IBRX on the NASDAQ. In summary, ImmunityBio develops next-generation immunotherapies for treating cancer and infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Seeing as both of its key end markets remain highly relevant today, investors could see IBRX stock as a viable biotech play now. Evidently, the company’s shares have more than doubled in value year-to-date.
Regarding its COVID-19 research, the company is currently working on a T-cell-based vaccine. In fact, the company received FDA-authorization to expand its Phase 1 trials just last month. By extension, the company is now studying the viability of a vaccine booster that can be taken orally. With this expansion, ImmunityBio added more participants to its current study as well.
The novel combination of an oral boost with an initial injected dose would set ImmunityBio apart from the competition. Given the prevalence of newer COVID-19 strains, most next-generation vaccines would include a booster dose. In this case, ImmunityBio’s orally administered booster would be more efficient logistically and in terms of administration. To this end, would you consider IBRX stock a buy?
