- The advancements in treatments for Alzheimer’s disease have spurred gains among large-cap pharmaceutical companies in the first half of 2021.
- Eisai (OTCPK:ESALY -0.9%) and Eli Lilly (LLY +0.7%) are among the five leading gainers in the pharmaceutical subsector with YTD gains of ~45.4% and ~35.9% to claim first and third positions in the list, respectively.
- Early this month, Eisai joined Biogen in winning FDA approval for Aduhelm (aducanumab) the first Alzheimer’s therapy in nearly two decades.
- In a few days, Lilly won the regulator’s Breakthrough Therapy designation for donanemab its Alzheimer’s asset for which the company expects to file a marketing application later this year.
- Meanwhile, AstraZeneca (AZN +0.8%) ADRs have climbed ~19.4% in H1 2021 to reach the fifth position in the list despite its battle over the safety concerns linked to its COVID-19 vaccine.
- Bausch Health Companies (BHC +2.9%) and Novo Nordisk (NVO +0.7%) ranked second and fourth with ~41.0% and ~19.9% YTD gains, respectively round out the top five biggest gainers in H1 2021.
- Looking ahead Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings and Authors are in agreement with Wall Street over the bullish prospects of AstraZeneca while Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY +0.5%) and Elanco Animal Health (ELAN +0.9%) have claimed top spots on SA Author ratings and Quant Ratings, respectively.
- Turning to major losers, at the bottom of the list is Viatris (VTRS +2.6%) with ~23.8% loss in the year so far. In February, the Upjohn-Mylan combination dropped ~15% in reaction to lower than expected 2021 guidance for EBITDA.
- Meanwhile, Merck (MRK +0.3%) has lost ~4.9% YTD amid a setback on its COVID-19 vaccine program early this year. The company’s Q1 2021 financials also missed the expectations causing a ~4.4% loss in shares in late April.
- Other top five underperformers include Royalty Pharma (RPRX +3.5%), Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK +0.4%) and Novartis (NVS +0.4%) with YTD losses of ~18.1%, ~7.6% and ~3.4%, respectively.
- Despite their weakness in the first half, SA Quant Ratings continue to indicate a neutral view on Novartis and Royalty Pharma.
