Just when it seemed that the COVID-19 was over, a new variant of the virus, Omicron, emerged out of nowhere and naturally, there is panic all over the world yet again. However, in this situation, many companies which have been involved in the manufacturing of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 are going to be back in business as well. Hence, it could prove to be an opportunity for investors as well and here is a look at three COVID-19 stocks that could end up beating the wider market in 2022.
Moderna has been at the forefront of the vaccination efforts over the course of the past year and has managed to bring in billions in revenues. The company has projected revenues in the $15 billion to $18 billion in 2021 and thanks to advance purchase agreements in place, it has already locked in $17 billion worth of revenues for next year.
However, the continued strong performance in the stock is going to depend on how Moderna does beyond 2022. Hence, the company is currently focused on a 2.0 version of its vaccine and later on in the future, Modern is looking to come up with a once-a-year pan-respiratory vaccine product. As more details emerge about these products in 2022, the interest in the stock could get heavier too.
It has been one of the more volatile stocks from among the COVID-19 stocks in recent times but at the same time, it should be noted that the company is working on modifying its vaccine in order to tackle the Omicron variant.
Another reason behind the volatility lies in the fact that there are doubts among investors with regard to the ability of the company to scale up its efforts. That being said, there could be significant upside in the stock in the future since the Novavax stock appears considerably undervalued at this point. It is trading at less than three times its 2022 sales at this point and at this point, it commands the lowest valuation from among the major COVID-19 vaccine developing companies.
Now, this is not strictly a COVID-19 stock but if the number of cases owing to the latest variant goes up and there is a large number of hospitalizations, then Inari Medical is a stock that could be worth keeping in the watch lists. When COVID-19 cases rise, the ICU might be full and there may not be any way to remove blood clots. However, Inari Medical has come up with devices like FlowTriever and ClotTriever which can help in this regard. The devices are minimally invasive and may command considerable demand if there is a major outbreak.
