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3 Drugmakers Still Worth Betting on Amid Coronavirus Woes
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The coronavirus pandemic has roiled global stock markets in the past month to an extent not seen since the financial crisis of 2008-09. Demand and supply have been hit. Earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2020 have been declining for the past three months, with current expectations at 5% year over year decline.
Within the pharma industry, several large and small players have announced plans to minimize the impact of COVID-19 to key business areas. Many of these pharma/drug/biotech companies are likely to provide updated business outlooks for 2020 to include the impact of coronavirus on their first- quarter earnings call. Last week, large-pharma companies namely Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) and Lilly (LLY - Free Report) decided to delay initiation of most of their new clinical studies and stop enrollment in ongoing studies. Meanwhile, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - Free Report) announced similar plans to reduce the burden on the healthcare system and allow doctors and healthcare facilities to focus on efforts to combat COVID-19.
Earlier this week, Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced that it anticipates an impact to patient enrollment in certain studies and delays in the initiation of new clinical studies. The company is also actively engaged with the FDA for timely approval to its candidates, JZP-258 and lurbinectedin, which are under review in the United States. It also expects adequate supply of lurbinectedin and JZP-258 to support their U.S. launches, following a potential approval. However, the bigger pharma/biotech companies do not expect any supply chain disruptions for their marketed drugs. Several smaller drug/biotech companies too plan to delay enrollment in ongoing clinical studies.
Although the big players in the pharma/biotech industry have significant cash to withstand these delays, these will likely affect their future cash flows. However, the concerns are greater for smaller biotechs with a single or a few candidates in their pipeline. These companies lack resources to handle delays, which may result in complete shutdown of their business. With several parts of the world under a lockdown, completion of clinical studies is expected to be delayed, which will adversely impact drug approvals and their launch.
3 Biotech Stocks to Buy
Amid these uncertain conditions prevailing worldwide, here we discuss three biotech stocks, which can cushion your portfolioto a certain extent.
Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 offer the best upside potential.
Moreover, earnings estimates for these companies have risen in contrast to decline in estimates for the broader market.
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. )
AMAG Pharmaceuticals carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has improved from a loss of 17 cents per share to earnings of 18 cents for 2020 in the past 30 days.
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained and impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year.
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3 Drugmakers Still Worth Betting on Amid Coronavirus Woes
The coronavirus pandemic has roiled global stock markets in the past month to an extent not seen since the financial crisis of 2008-09. Demand and supply have been hit. Earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2020 have been declining for the past three months, with current expectations at 5% year over year decline.
Within the pharma industry, several large and small players have announced plans to minimize the impact of COVID-19 to key business areas. Many of these pharma/drug/biotech companies are likely to provide updated business outlooks for 2020 to include the impact of coronavirus on their first- quarter earnings call. Last week, large-pharma companies namely Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) and Lilly (LLY - Free Report) decided to delay initiation of most of their new clinical studies and stop enrollment in ongoing studies. Meanwhile, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - Free Report) announced similar plans to reduce the burden on the healthcare system and allow doctors and healthcare facilities to focus on efforts to combat COVID-19.
Earlier this week, Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced that it anticipates an impact to patient enrollment in certain studies and delays in the initiation of new clinical studies. The company is also actively engaged with the FDA for timely approval to its candidates, JZP-258 and lurbinectedin, which are under review in the United States. It also expects adequate supply of lurbinectedin and JZP-258 to support their U.S. launches, following a potential approval. However, the bigger pharma/biotech companies do not expect any supply chain disruptions for their marketed drugs. Several smaller drug/biotech companies too plan to delay enrollment in ongoing clinical studies.
Although the big players in the pharma/biotech industry have significant cash to withstand these delays, these will likely affect their future cash flows. However, the concerns are greater for smaller biotechs with a single or a few candidates in their pipeline. These companies lack resources to handle delays, which may result in complete shutdown of their business. With several parts of the world under a lockdown, completion of clinical studies is expected to be delayed, which will adversely impact drug approvals and their launch.
3 Biotech Stocks to Buy
Amid these uncertain conditions prevailing worldwide, here we discuss three biotech stocks, which can cushion your portfolioto a certain extent.
These three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and have a VGM Score of B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 offer the best upside potential.
Moreover, earnings estimates for these companies have risen in contrast to decline in estimates for the broader market.
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. )
AMAG Pharmaceuticals carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has improved from a loss of 17 cents per share to earnings of 18 cents for 2020 in the past 30 days.
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. price | AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Quote
Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (MIST - Free Report) )
Milestone Pharmaceuticals carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for loss has narrowed 4.2% for 2020 in the past 30 days.
Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. Price
Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. price | Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. Quote
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CPIX - Free Report) )
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals sports a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has moved up 10% for 2020 in the past 30 days.
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. Price
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. price | Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. Quote
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained and impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year.
See their latest picks free >>