Will These Three Healthcare Stocks Double In 2021?

Summary

• Ocugen is co-developing a covid vaccine with India’s Bharat Biotech and the National Institute of Virology.
• According to a Vaxart survey, around 19 million Americans would prefer oral tablets for covid instead of injections.
• Novavax launches phase-3 clinical trial to assess efficacy and safety of its new covid-19 vaccine among children in the age group of 12 to 17 years.

The pandemic has triggered a flurry of activities in the pharmaceutical sector as companies rush to develop drugs to combat the virus. Following the early stage of drug development, companies are coming up with new medicines that are proving effective even against the covid variants.

The competition is likely to grow as the contagion is expected to linger on for some time before it is fully neutralized. Studies show that the virus has developed into new variants, requiring pharmaceutical companies to constantly update their drug development to meet the latest needs.

Companies, which have been quick to launch the drug, have been rewarded with bulk orders, thereby earning them handsome profits. But others are also catching up fast with various improvements, such as the ability of the drug to eliminate the virus with a single dose, or ease of storage, requiring basic refrigeration instead of deep freeze, which had been the case before.

Given their robust growth in the recent past, will these three health stocks double in value this year?

Pic Credit: Pixabay

Ocugen, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCGN)

Ocugen, Inc. is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania. It has been one of the most actively traded stocks in recent days.

The stock jumped nearly 26% to US$15.94, from the previous close, at 12:47 pm ET on Monday, May 3, after it announced that its covid vaccine, Covaxin, is effective against all three key covid variants. The stock value has nearly doubled in the last 30 days.

According to the company, Covaxin is effective against the variants found in Brazil, the UK, and India. Ocugen is co-developing the drug with India’s Bharat Biotech and the National Institute of Virology under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The head of Ocugen’s scientific advisory board Dr. Satish Chandran said that the latest results show the vaccine could successfully eliminate the three variants.

The company had recently raised US$100 million after closing a direct offering of 10 million common stocks to institutional investors, priced at US$10 per share.

Also Read: CDC, FDA Recommend Halting Johnson & Johnson’s One-Shot COVID Vaccine

Vaxart, Inc. (NASDAQ:VXRT)

Vaxart is one of the leading American biotechnology companies based in San Francisco, California. The company specializes in manufacturing and marketing medicines that do not require refrigeration. It is also developing a covid pill for which a second-phase clinical trial is underway.

Although the stock has declined in recent days, it holds enormous growth potential. Vaxart had reported a Q1 loss of 14 cents per share, compared to 2 cents during the same period last year.

The stock was down 16.23% to US$9.03 at 12:54 pm ET on Monday, May 3. The stock, however, had gained more than 50% in the last one month. According to a recent survey of the company, around 19 million Americans would prefer to take oral tablets for covid instead of injections.

Also Read: Will 2021 add more glow to these healthcare stocks?

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Novavax, Inc., is another major American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It also has production facilities in Sweden and the Czech Republic. The stock was trading at US$206.68 at 12.42 pm ET on Monday, May 3. It rose over 16% in the past 30 days.

The company had recently announced to increase the number of participants in its phase-3 clinical trial for the covid-19 vaccine to 3,000 individuals. The company hopes to get an accurate assessment of the drug in terms of its efficacy and safety in the age group of 12 to 17 years.  Novavax is expected to release the details of the trial in the upcoming World Vaccine Congress.

It also had recently successfully conducted a phase-2b clinical trial for a malaria vaccine. The results, which were published in The Lancet, show that the vaccine had an efficacy of 77% when administered in children aged 5-17 months in Africa.

Note: The above constitutes a preliminary view and any interest in stocks should be evaluated further from an investment point of view.