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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Eli Lilly, Moderna, Pfizer, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and BioNTech

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 5, 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: Eli Lilly and Company LLY, Moderna, Inc. MRNA, Pfizer Inc. PFE, Sanofi SNY, GlaxoSmithKline plc GSK and BioNTech SE BNTX.

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Late-Stage COVID Trials: These Pharma Stocks Are in Focus

The past few months have seen biotech firms and drugmakers going all out to develop a vaccine to wipe out the deadly coronavirus. The race started sometime in February and a number of drugmakers have reported partial success to overwhelming results in their initial phases of trial.

Hopes of a vaccine have once again started rising with a number of companies now entering the final phase of their trials. Also, governments across the world are pumping in millions of dollars to secure the first doses of vaccines.

Late-Stage Trails Raise Vaccine Hopes

On Aug 3, Eli Lilly and Company said that it will be beginning a late-stage trial on one of its experimental COVID-19 antibody treatments. The phase 3 study will ensure if LY-CoV555, a treatment developed by Eli Lilly in partnership with Canadian biotech AbCellera, can prevent the spread of the virus in residents and staff in U.S. nursing homes. The company is expected to enroll up to 2,400 participants who live or work at a facility that have had a recently diagnosed case of coronavirus.

Eli Lilly is already testing the drug in hospitals to study if it can work as a treatment in patients who have the disease. This trial will test whether it works prophylactically. Eli Lilly is among the many companies that have made substantial progress in developing a vaccine candidate for coronavirus. However, the COVID-19 crisis is far from over given that no treatment has yet been found.

Vaccine Race Heats Up

Following remarkable progress in developing a vaccine over the past couple of months, some drugmakers and biotech companies have started ramping up production of their vaccine candidates, anticipating huge demand if they prove successful. Last week, Moderna and Pfizer launched two 30,000-subject trials of COVID-19 vaccines that could clear the way for regulatory approval and widespread use by the end of this year, the companies said.

The trials, both announced on the same day, are the first late-stage studies supported by the Trump administration to ramp up development of a coronavirus vaccine. Also, the Trump administration is shelling out billions of dollars to secure the first doses of a successful vaccine.

Pharma giants Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline last week said that they will receive up to $2.1 billion from the U.S. government for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. Sanofi and GSK will start clinical trials of their vaccine candidate in September and the Phase 3 study will be underway by the end of the year.

Also, Dr. Anthony Fauci, United States’ leading infectious diseases doctor, said on Jul 6 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, giving a boost to the confidence of millions.

Stocks in Focus

Moderna has been one of the frontrunners in the COVID-19 vaccine race. 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. Moderna’s vaccine for COVID-19 showed it was safe and triggered immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers in the early-stage study. Its shares have gained 28.5% in the past 30 days. Moderna has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Pfizer joined forces with German biotech giant BioNTech to develop a vaccine for coronavirus. The 360 patients in the United States trial started to receive the first doses of the four vaccine candidates included in the study as of May 5. Dosing in 200 participants in the German trial began on Apr 23. The company has now entered its phase 2/3 safety and efficacy clinical study on 30,000 subjects. The candidate has so far shown promise and the U.S. government last month announced a $1.95 billion contract with the company for up to 600 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer’s shares have advanced 10.9% in the past month. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.4% over the past 60 days. Pfizer carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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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 https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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Sanofi (SNY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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