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4 Small Drug Stocks Worth Betting on Amid Coronavirus Woes

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Major market indices have recovered from the lows hit in March due to the coronavirus and are currently down modestly. NASDAQ is trading at a record high.

The coronavirus pandemic has significantly hurt economic growth, hitting some industries harder than the others. While economic damage to the retail, restaurants, gaming, transportation and travel industries has been the maximum, the impact on the drug and biotech sector has been relatively softer. In fact, all eyes are on this sector to find a cure/vaccine for the deadly COVID-19 disease and bring an end to the global economic catastrophe

Coronavirus is likely to have dealt a blow to the performance of several small drug makers in the second quarter. There is widespread uncertainty about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on business, including supply chain, clinical trials, commercial operations and growth outlook. Also, R&D timelines have been impacted with some companies pausing enrollments in ongoing studies and others delaying new study starts. Moreover, due to the current gloomy economic situation, partnership deals are also fewer in number. Meanwhile, large pharma companies are focusing on biotechs developing coronavirus vaccines or spending on developing the same by themselves.

Nonetheless, though second-quarter results may be severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, an improvement is expected in the second half.

Meanwhile, the overall fundamentals of the sector are strong. Successful innovation resulting in new drug approvals, important advances in clinical studies and strategic collaborations with strong partners have kept these companies afloat despite the pandemic.

Year-to-Date Price Performance

The adverse impact of coronavirus on the drug sector seem to have been already discounted by the market. It is evident from the performance of the Zacks Medical-Drugs market so far this year. The sector has recovered after falling more than 30% this year in March and is currently down a mere 4.8% so far this year.

Favorable Zacks Rank

The Zacks Medical-Drugs industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #95, which places it in the top 29% of more than 250 Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Here we discuss four small stocks from the drug sector, which hold potential for a good run amid the coronavirus crisis.

4 Drug Stocks to Buy

Although the Zacks Medical-Drugs, which is a huge 172-stock group of drug companies within the broader Zacks Medical Sector, has slightly underperformed the S&P 500 index on a year-to-date basis, there are few stocks available with good prospects. Here we discuss four small drug stocks, which can cushion your portfolio to a certain extent.

These four stocks carry a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) and their earnings estimates have moved upward in the past four weeks. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Alpine Immune Sciences Inc (ALPN - Free Report)

The Zacks Consensus Estimate has narrowed from loss of $1.38 per share to 4 cents for 2020 in the past 30 days. Shares are up 147.4% so far this year.

Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ATNM - Free Report)

The consensus estimate has improved from a loss of 17 cents per share to a loss of 8 cents for 2020 in the past 30 days. The company’s shares have gained 63.5% so far this year.

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (PCRX - Free Report)

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has improved from $1.79 per share to $1.82 for 2020 in the past 30 days. The stock is up 19.8% year to date.

Translate Bio, Inc. (TBIO)

The consensus estimate for loss has narrowed from $1.70 per share to $1.47 for 2020 in the past 30 days. Shares are up 113.8% so far this year.

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