2 stocks to watch amid rising monkeypox fears: SIGA & TNXP

As the monkeypox outbreak is sweeping the globe and World Health Organization (WHO) declaring it a public health concern at a global level, certain pharma stocks are gaining traction in the market. Two such companies are SIGA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGA) and Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:TNXP). 

Although not spreading at the pace of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still a major pandemic-like threat the world cannot afford now. First detected in May 2022 in the United Kingdom, the viral disease is spreading worldwide. 

In such a scenario, the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture medicines will likely grow rapidly. Here, we look at two such stocks that are likely to gain as the threat of monkeypox rises:

SIGA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGA)

The New York City-based SIGA Technologies, Inc., founded in 1995, is an American pharmaceutical company that provides solutions for antiviral smallpox treatment. 

After surging 43% in May, the SIGA Technologies stock has been in the reckoning ever since as the monkeypox disease is spreading in different parts of the world. Currently, the stock is up again after WHO's alarm. 

The SIGA stock jumped 29 per cent during the trading session on Monday, July 26, showing that the company has a treatment for monkeypox called TPOXX. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018 for use in the US. The company claims it has already witnessed a spurt in orders for TPOXX.

The total orders for TPOXX went up to US$ 56 million YTD, SIGA Technologies said two weeks ago. Notably, the company has a market cap of approximately 1.1 billion.

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: TNXP)

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corporation (TNXP) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Chatham, New Jersey. It is also among the bevy of pharma stocks likely to see an upward trajectory if the monkeypox disease continues unabated. 

The company on Monday appointed Sina Bavari as the new Executive Vice President, Infectious Disease Research & Development. 

Although TNXP plummeted by 87.3758 per cent YTD, it saw a rise of 20.6 per cent over the last week. It touched the highest price of US$ 32.96 and the lowest of US$ 1.19 in the last 52 weeks. 

In the quarter ended March 31, 2022, Tonix Pharmaceuticals reported a net loss of operations of US$ 26.4 million compared to US$ 20.7 million in the year-ago quarter. It reported R&D expenses of US$ 18.4 million for the first quarter of 2022 versus US$ 15.3 million for the same period in the previous year.          

Bottom line:

As the monkeypox cases rise, pharma companies will likely step up and boost the manufacturing of drugs that can treat viral diseases. Other than the above two companies, other pharmaceutical companies are also likely to see growth amid the rising cases of the disease. At the same time, the looming recession will also have a major say on companies' financials.