When markets open Wednesday March 18, it's likely Regeneron ($REGN) shares will zoom past the $500 mark for the first time in nearly five years. Already in 2020, that would mark a value increase of roughly 35%.
And it's all because the New York pharmaceutical company may have developed a treatment for Coronavirus, which its co-founder tells CNBC may be ready to roll out for US trials in early summer.
What does it mean? As the virus spread in the month of March, the company's Twitter ($TWTR) following did as well, edging up about 2% this month. Other data tracked by Thinknum reflects an increase in hiring, as well.
Regeneron's plan, which it outlined March 17, includes developing antibodies to treat the virus. America's pharmaceutical and healthcare companies are sprinting to develop both testing products (which Roche announced, earlier this week, that it would begin to ship) and Gilead Sciences developed a treatment that is already being tested in China.
The race to a Coronavirus cure is on, and in a market making almost nothing but losses in 2020, the pharmaceutical space offers investors a chance to bet on a winner. But as questions linger - particularly in the US - over affordability and accessibility, it's unclear how the winner of the race to the cure will next be received by a culture of millions of Americans holding out hope for survival, at a reasonable price.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- Teladoc hiring and social sharing soars as telehealth takes center stage
- Walgreens is ramping up hiring and getting more attention on social as Americans hunker down
- Clorox captivates on social media as US focuses on cleaning products
