With the latest outbreak now reported in all 50 states per ABC News, investors may want to consider the top monkeypox stocks to buy right now. From an investment perspective, this latest health threat poses powerful catalysts.
For one thing, the risks are real. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, monkeypox is a zoonotic orthopox DNA virus related to the virus that causes smallpox. While cases have circulated for decades, research has been neglected and underfunded. Not only does infection cause pain, it can also lead to organ injury. Therefore, the framework for the top monkeypox stocks to buy right now commands sober attention.
Additionally, monkeypox symptoms create anxieties and distress. Therefore, significant incentives undergird these top monkeypox stocks to buy right now.
| DGX | Quest Diagnostics | $128.83 |
| BVNRY | Bavarian Nordic | $16.15 |
| EBS | Emergent BioSolutions | $27.28 |
Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Arguably one of the more conservative names among the top monkeypox stocks to buy, Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) offers clinical assessments. From a fundamental perspective, DGX offers significant bang for the buck. Whether we’re talking about Covid-19, monkeypox or other infectious disease, Quest’s testing protocols offer long-term relevance.
Regarding the crisis at hand, the company started testing for monkeypox on July 13. Per its press release, Quest “developed a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that uses patient swab specimens to qualitatively detect non-variola orthpoxviruses and monkeypox virus DNA.”
According to CNN, “Testing is a major part of the monkeypox containment effort for two reasons: It’s the first step to identifying and isolating patients, and it gives public health officials an idea of the scope of the outbreak and which geographic areas need the most resources.”
Combining urgency with relevancy, DGX represents one of the top monkeypox stocks to buy right now.
Bavarian Nordic (BVNRY)
Prior to the latest disease outbreak, few had ever heard of Bavarian Nordic (OTCMKTS:BVNRY). Based in Denmark, the biotechnology firm fortuitously received the world’s spotlight. According to the Wall Street Journal, Bavarian “is the world’s sole supplier of a licensed vaccine for monkeypox.” It’s an obvious idea, but BVNRY clearly represents one of the top monkeypox stocks to buy.
Interestingly, the WSJ reported that Bavarian “worked for nearly two decades to develop a vaccine and only six governments bought it. Within the last few weeks [as of July 30], orders have come in from dozens of countries around the globe and it is looking at whether it can operate 24-hours a day, seven days a week, to meet demand.”
Clearly, the market also responded well to BVNRY. Up until the second half of May of this year, Bavarian struggled on a year-to-date basis. Since May 18, however, shares have blossomed. Over the trailing six months, BVNRY gained nearly 70%.
Financially, it’s a speculative idea considering that valuation metrics consider BVNRY significantly overvalued. Still, as cases rise, BVNRY could see increased demand.
Emergent BioSolutions (EBS)
On the other end of the scale, Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) represents a significantly undervalued idea among the top monkeypox stocks to buy right now. Per Gurufocus.com, the company ranks highly for long-term growth relative to industry standards. In addition, the same can be said about Emergent’s profitability metrics.
One key stat to point out is the biotech’s operating margin. At 13.7%, it rates higher than the industry median of 6%. As well, it’s better than 69% of companies in the drug manufacturing business. Finally, on the financial side, Emergent features a relatively solid balance sheet.
What makes Emergent interesting, though, is its ACAM2000 vaccine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ACAM2000 features approval for “immunization against smallpox disease and made available for use against monkeypox under an Expanded Access Investigational New Drug (EA-IND) protocol.”
Fortuitously, Emergent in 2019 received a 10-year contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to supply ACAM2000. The value of the contract is approximately $2 billion.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.