5 Biotech Stocks That Have More Than Doubled This Year
Zacks Investment Research | Dec 16, 2019 08:38PM ET
It has been a roller-coaster ride for the biotech sector so far this year, after a dismal 2018. While 2019 started with a bang with the announcement of the mega-merger of Bristol-Myers (NYSE:BMY) and Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) that significantly perked up prices of quite a few stocks, these gains were partially offset due to the overall weakness in the global market. Nevertheless, the sector has again picked up in the past couple of months, primarily owing to the recent spree of mergers and acquisitions and positive pipeline readouts.
Overall, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index has risen 24.7% year to date.
The sector has been in the spotlight since the onset of the year as a slowdown in mature products due to increasing competition and rise of biosimilars forced most pharma/biotech behemoths to target lucrative buyouts in the space to bolster their pipelines. In particular, the biotechs (both small and big), which have a dominant position in the lesser competitive arena of rare diseases, gene therapy and NASH and are well-equipped with path-breaking technology, are acquisition targets. A slew of licensing and buyout deals is struck by most companies eyeing smaller entities with impressive pipelines. Novartis recently announced that it will acquire The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO) and add a potentially transformational investigational cholesterol-lowering therapy to its portfolio. Roche is finally set to acquire Spark Therapeutics after a prolonged delay, while Japanese company Astellas Pharma is taking over gene therapy company Audentes Therapeutics, Inc.
Meanwhile, new drug approvals and label expansions of blockbuster drugs boosted investor sentiment. Key approvals include Vyondys 53, Oxbryta, Givlaari, Reblozyl, Trikafta, Inrebic, Vyleesi and Evenity, among others.
Quite a few biotech companies have done well in 2019 so far. Moreover, the Original post
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