Because the emergence of a new, highly virulent coronavirus strain called omicron poses a significant threat globally, COVID-19 vaccine markers are expected to again attract significant investor attention. While researchers are still trying to understand the efficacy of existing vaccines concerning the new variant, we think prominent vaccine stocks Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) could rally in the coming months. Read on.Based on the data submitted to the TAG-VE, the WHO last week recognized the COVID-19 omicron variant as a concern. The data indicate that omicron contains several new qualities that might affect how it behaves. After a few patients began exhibiting unusual symptoms that differ slightly from those associated with the Delta variant, the WHO warned that this variant poses a "very high" global risk and could have “severe consequences for some areas.”
Omicron contains more than 30 mutations to its spike protein, and the effectiveness of existing vaccines may be lower. Scientists in South Africa are now exploring omicron. Also, vaccine makers have already started working on boosters to address the omicron variant, and a new omicron-specific vaccine could be ready in the near term.
Given this backdrop, we believe fundamentally sound vaccine stocks Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) could be solid bets now.