Pharmaceutical companies taking center stage in the COVID-19 fight have witnessed significant growth in their stock price in the first half of 2020. According to data gathered by AksjeBloggen, the market capitalization of the six leading pharma companies involved in COVID-19 research jumped by $51.1bn in the last six months.
With a $15.67bn increase between January and June, Gilead Sciences has witnessed the most significant growth in the market cap value amid coronavirus pandemic.
Global Race for the Coronavirus Cure
Gilead Sciences shot to the public spotlight due to trials of its broad-spectrum antiviral medication Remdesivir as a possible treatment for COVID-19. At the end of January, the market cap of the U.S. biopharmaceutical company amounted to $79.04bn, revealed MacroTrends data. By the end of the first week in March, it peaked at $101.24bn, almost 30% jump in less than two months.
After a sharp fall on Black Monday, Gilead stock price value dropped to $86.55. However, after the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases trial had shown that Remdesivir accelerates recovery from advanced COVID-19 at the end of April, the combined value of companies stocks peaked at $104.92bn. Statistics show the market capitalization of the U.S. pharma company stood at $94.71bn last week, a 20% jump since the beginning of the year.
With a $15.55bn increase in the total value of shares, the US COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna has witnessed the second-largest market cap increase amid coronavirus outbreak. At the beginning of January, the Massachusetts-based clinical-stage biotechnology company had $6.67bn in market capitalization and the figure continued rising ever since. After receiving a $483 million financial boost from the U.S. Government agency BARDA to accelerate the development of the vaccine mRNA-1273, the company’s stock price peaked at $28.25bn on May 18th. Statistics show the Moderna stock price value stood at $22.22bn last week.
The British multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca ranked third on this list, with a $12.2bn increase in the market cap value in the last six months. In January, the total value of the company’s shares stood at $130.33bn. Due to the coronavirus stock market crisis, it tumbled to $99.1bn in the second week of March. However, after announcing a collaboration with Oxford University to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, the market cap started growing and peaked at $145.1bn on May 13th. Last week the combined value of shares of the British pharmaceutical company amounted to $142.35bn.
Roche, Sanofi and BioNTech Combined Market Cap Jumped by $7.9bn
The Swiss multinational healthcare company Roche Holding has witnessed a $3.94bn increase in the market cap value, rising from $40.89bn in January to $44.83bn last week. Along with providing fast, accurate, and reliable COVID-19 tests, China’s National Health Commission also recommends using the company’s anti-inflammation drug, Actemra, for COVID-19 patients with severe lung damage. In May, the company’s shares started significantly rising after Roche’s Elecsys IL-6 test received FDA Emergency Use Authorization to help in identifying patients at high risk of severe inflammatory response.
Statistics show that Sanofi S.A. ranked fifth on this list, with a $2.13bn jump in the total value of shares in the last six months. In January, the market cap of the French multinational pharmaceutical company amounted to $129.1bn. After a significant plunge in March, the market capitalization stood at $131.31bn last week.
German immunotherapy company BioNTech, as the last company on this list, witnessed a $1.83bn increase in the market cap value in the first half of the year. Statistics show the total value of the company’s shares grew from $9.9bn at the beginning of January to $11.73bn in June.