Highlights
- Innovations made by the biotech industry made headlines when the Covid-19 vaccines were in progress.
- Stocks like Novacyt, Benchmark Holdings, and Egromed are some of the stocks that have been making news off late.
The Covid-19 pandemic proved to be an opportunity for the biotechnology industry. Innovations made by the industry remained the headlines when the Covid-19 vaccines were in progress. Apart from the Covid-19 innovations, biotech stocks have been making noise through path-breaking discoveries in the field of medical research.
Here are three biotechnology stocks that have been making a buzz off late:
Novacyt SA (LON:NYCT)
The global specialist in clinical diagnostics announced that its revenue for the first half of 2021 increased 50 per cent to £94.7 million from £63.3 million in the same period a year ago. About £54 million of the total revenue came from a mixture of UK’s growing private testing market as well as overseas sales.
The shares of the company were up 3.77 per cent, trading at GBX 377 on 19 August at 09:09 GMT+1. The shares have a one-year return of 25.83 per cent and have a market capitalisation of £256.66 million. The shares have a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 1.94.
Benchmark Holdings Plc (LON:BMK)
The shares of the aquaculture biotechnology company were trading down by 1.40 per cent at GBX 58.10 on 19 August at 09:09 GMT+1. The shares have a one-year return of 41.71 per cent, and its market capitalisation stands at £398.87 million as of 19 August 2021.
The company recently announced that it received Marketing authorisation from the Norwegian Medicines Agency in Norway for the product Ectosan® Vet, which could be a turning point for solving the issues for the salmon industry. Ectosan® Vet would be the milestone in sea lice veterinary treatment, which the Norwegian salmon market has begun over a decade. Sea lice have been detrimental for salmon breeders and have cost then about $1bn globally each year.
Ergomed Plc (LON:ERGO)
The shares of the pharmacovigilance solutions company were up 1.61 per cent, trading at GBX 1,260 with a market capitalisation of £605.53 million as of 12:30 PM on 19 August 2021. The shares have a PE ratio of 48.06.
The company conducts monitoring of drug safety in the development stages and even after the product hits the market. Its clinical research outsourcing wing also offers research management services, including monitoring, reporting, and planning of data from the clinical trials.
CONCLUSION
The biotechnology sector is one of the most sought-after sectors at the moment. With Covid and its long-lasting impact faced by humanity, there is much more focus on research and formulation of new drugs. There would be more innovation and more patent wars that would follow soon.