What happened
Shares of biopharmaceutical company Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) gained 46.6% in the first half of 2020 (January to June), according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The S&P 500 returned negative 3.1% over the period.
In 2020, the stock is up 55.9% through Thursday, July 2, while the S&P 500 has returned negative 2.1%.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
So what
Emergent has quite a few irons in the fire, as it has a portfolio of commercialized products and a solid pipeline. The company specializes in developing and manufacturing vaccines and therapeutics that target infectious diseases and biological and chemical agents.
However, we can attribute Emergent stock's robust first-half 2020 performance to its COVID-19 vaccine contract development and manufacturing deals. A handful of companies that are developing COVID-19 vaccine candidates have signed agreements with Emergent to be their U.S. manufacturing partner.
DATA BY YCHARTS.
Notable among these are pharma giants Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN), which inked approximately $135 million and $87 million deals, respectively, with Emergent. Biotechs Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) and Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT) have also signed manufacturing agreements with the company.
The Novavax and Vaxart deals occurred in March, followed by the J&J and AstraZeneca deals in April and June, respectively.
In addition, in March, Emergent began developing two plasma-derived product candidates for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. These candidates are being developed on the company's hyperimmune platform.
Now what
Emergent BioSolutions isn't profitable. In the first quarter, it recorded a net loss of $12.5 million and an adjusted net loss of $0.3 million.
However, investors who are comfortable with that fact might find it an appealing way to get exposure to the COVID-19 vaccine space. Buying the stock essentially spreads your bet among several companies in the race to develop a vaccine.
10 Top Stocks we like better than Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can literally pay to listen. After all, they have consistently beaten the market for over 25 years!
David and Tom just revealed what they believe are their ten Top Stocks for investors to buy right now… and Emergent BioSolutions Inc. wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks may be even better buys.
