|
Proprietary Data Insights Financial Pros Top Covid Stock Searches This Month
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
Is it too Late to Invest in Covid? We conclude our main article by pointing out how shares of Moderna (MRNA) are more than 50% off the highs they hit in July. You might assume this means the Covid trade is over. While it may be difficult to directly invest in Covid treatments, there are plenty of stocks influenced by Covid, specifically, companies that enable remote work. That includes Salesforce.com (CRM), Dropbox (DBX), as well as giants like Microsoft (MSFT). The trick is to not put all your eggs in one basket. Covid will eventually end or at least wane (most likely). So while it creates profits, they are limited. That’s why you want to shoot for an industry with a longer-term trend – something set to last 5-10 years. However, don’t ignore healthcare trends including the advent of mRNA vaccines. Introduced to the world during Covid, the growth in this particular industry is immense. |
|
Covid |
Does Pharma Profit From Vaccines? |
Key Takeaways
As we complete another year with Covid overhang, we wanted to take some time to answer a few market-related questions that apparently many folks don’t know. Is Pharma Profiting From The Vaccines? You bet your ass they are! Now, some pharma companies stand to make much more than others. For example, Moderna (MRNA) didn’t make squat before Covid. In the most recent quarterly call, the company expected sales to top $18 billion for the whole year. This vaccine, along with several others, came with significant public funding. In Moderna’s case, nearly $10 billion for the R&D plus the purchase of 500 million doses. Pfizer (PFE) is a different story. The pharmaceutical behemoth generates nearly $42 billion in revenue per year and operating margins of around 20%. Covid vaccine sales are expected to add $36 billion in 2021 and $29 billion in 2022. That’s a massive amount of profits and sales. But, it’s not ALL the company’s revenues as it is for Moderna. Are Insurance Companies Paying For Vaccines? In many cases, they are (in the US). However, the federal government is reimbursing them through direct funding and partnerships. The CARES Act requires health insurance companies to cover “any qualifying coronavirus preventative services” which includes testing and vaccines. However, that support isn’t unlimited and will decline in the coming months. Can People Sue A Business Over Covid Infections? Depends on where you live. Protections have been largely left up to the states. You can see a list of the states with liability protections listed below. Can Businesses Require Vaccines? While a flurry of state laws attempted to prevent this, rulings from court cases have so far sided with businesses. While there are still cases working their way through the system, most have so far sided with businesses. That said, many companies are shying away from employee mandates. The Bottom Line: As we make our way through the next year or two, courts will hopefully settle more issues and provide businesses with certainty. However, we’ve learned how wiley Covid can be. So don’t assume everything will remain as it is. In fact, we’ve already seen shares of Moderna slide 50% from their highs. We expect stocks heavily dependent on Covid to experience high volatility for the next six months. |
