For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 8, 2020 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Inc. MRNA, Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) SNY, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) GSK, Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), Inc. GILD and Amgen, Inc. AMGN.
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Vaccine Hopes Rise Again: 4 Stocks to Watch
The world is waiting with bated breath for the development of a vaccine to defeat the novel coronavirus. Although a number of biotech firms have been aggressively working toward developing a treatment for the deadly COVID-19, the FDA is yet to give approval to one. That said, Trump has urged U.S. states to get ready to distribute a potential COVID-19 vaccine by Nov 1, two days before the presidential election.
This has once again renewed hopes of a vaccine among millions. Biotech firms and drugmakers across the globe are pumping in millions of dollars to develop a vaccine to wipe out the deadly coronavirus, with many already ramping up production of their vaccine candidates in the hope of getting an approval.
Vaccine Tests in Last Lap
On Sep 2, the coronavirus vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) started its phase 3 clinical trials in the United States. The vaccine is already undergoing phase-3 testing in several countries, including India, Brazil, England and South Africa. The company said trials were soon likely to start in Japan and Russia.
A number of other drugmakers too are in the phase 3 trial of their vaccine candidates. Some are even ramping up production of the vaccine, with the United States already having booked large amounts of vaccine doses from multiple companies. Moreover, the announcement from the CDC about vaccine distribution from Nov 1 definitely has lifted the morale of millions who have been impatiently waiting for a positive development.
Trump Secures Vaccine Doses
In July, Dr. Anthony Fauci, United States’ leading infectious diseases doctor, had said that the nation will get to know by the end of this year whether a coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective. He had also assured that a vaccine will be available as soon as the clinical trials are complete.
The United States is making sure that the nation has adequate doses of vaccine once it is developed. The Trump administration in recent weeks signed deals to acquire hundreds of millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines from a large number of companies as part of its Operation Warp Speed program, which aims to deliver a vaccine in the country by the end of the year.
Last month, the United States entered into an agreement with Moderna, Inc. to acquire 100 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine for around $1.5 billion. Besides, it has also advanced purchase agreements with Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and others for their respective vaccine candidates.
Stocks to Watch
Naturally, with drugmakers and biotech companies making remarkable progress in developing a vaccine over the past few months, hopes continue to rise. Here are some of the companies that are leading the race.
Moderna particularly has been in the spotlight over the past few months. The company’s vaccine candidate mRNA-1273 is a molecule that genetically encodes a set of instructions based on which cells make proteins and send them to various parts of the body.
The vaccine candidate is one of the first to have entered the final stage of trial and is on track to be completed by this month. Moderna’s shares have gained 66.5% in the past three months. The company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Sanofi is working on two vaccine candidates for COVID-19. One candidate, to be manufactured on the back of an existing platform that develops vaccines to treat flu, will use an adjuvant made by GlaxoSmithKline to boost its efficacy. The other is being developed with U.S. company Translate Bio (NASDAQ:TBIO), which relies on a different technology known as mRNA. The first vaccine is already undergoing human-phase trial, while the second will soon enter clinical trials.
The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 5.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.5% over the past 60 days. Sanofi has a Zacks Rank #3.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. has already received an emergency-use authorization from the FDA based on preliminary results from two clinical trials: one conducted by the NIAID and one by Gilead. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for next year is 4.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.7% over the past 60 days. Gilead has a Zacks Rank #3.
Amgen, Inc., one of the biggest biotech companies in the world, collaborated with Adaptive, Inc. in April to work on antibodies that can be used to prevent or treat COVID-19. Amgen also plans to test Otezla as a COVID-19 therapy treating respiratory distress in late-stage patients in the coming days.
Amgen’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 5.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.8% over the past 60 days.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2021.
Click here for the 6 trades >>
Join us on Facbook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Sanofi (SNY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report
Moderna, Inc. (MRNA): Free Stock Analysis Report
GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK): Free Stock Analysis Report
Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research