There are a number of themes that have been driven into momentum opportunities in the stock market right now because of their relationship with the tragedy of the Novel Coronavirus pandemic, including personal protection equipment suppliers, telehealth technology platforms, remote office virtualization, biotechnology developers, and outpatient healthcare providers.
Here are three interesting opportunities with massive growth potential: Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:APT), ISW Holdings, Inc. (OTCMKTS:ISWH), and CytoDyn Inc (OTCMKTS:CYDY).
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Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:APT) engages in developing, manufacturing, and marketing a line of disposable protective apparel, building supply products, and infection control products in the United States and internationally.
The big idea powering the stock lately is its production of masks capable of helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This is especially important given that the government is considering mandating mask-wearing in public.
Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (APT) operates through three segments: Building Supply, Disposable Protective Apparel, and Infection Control. The Building Supply segment offers construction weatherization products, such as house wrap, synthetic roof underlayment, and other woven materials.
The Disposable Protective Apparel segment provides shoe covers, bouffant caps, gowns, coveralls, lab coats, hoods, frocks, and other miscellaneous products.
The Infection Control segment offers face masks and eye shields. The company provides its products under the Alpha Pro Tech brand name, as well as under private labels. Its products are used primarily in cleanrooms; industrial safety manufacturing environments; health care facilities, such as hospitals, laboratories, and dental offices; pharmaceutical markets; and building and re-roofing sites.
The company distributes its products through a network of purchasing groups, distributors, and independent sales representatives, as well as through its sales and marketing force.
If you’re long this stock, then you’re liking how the stock has responded to the announcement. APT shares have been moving higher over the past week overall, pushing about 56% to the upside on above-average trading volume.
Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (APT) managed to rope in revenues totaling $10.9M in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data — a figure that represents a rate of top-line growth of -0.4%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels far exceeding current liabilities ($6.9M against $2.3M).
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ISW Holdings, Inc. (OTCMKTS:ISWH) deserves a close look after the company announced record results and strong growth related to its home healthcare division. The argument for this is pretty simple: hospitals are already straining at capacity or past it. It’s the most horrific part of this virus outbreak.
That overcapacity will have a number of consequences, including the federal government likely forcing private companies to make hospital equipment like masks, testing kits, and ventilators and home healthcare companies like ISWH experiencing a client volume boom as triaging sends people off-site to make room for inpatient virus care.
According to its most recent press release, ISW Holdings posted revenues of $527,151. Management notes that these results were achieved on accelerating sequential quarterly growth, with nearly half of those revenues appearing in Q4. Sequential growth in Q3 (versus Q2) was 26%. Sequential growth in Q4 (versus Q3) was 29%. The company also projects Sequential growth in Q1 2020 to come in at a new record level significantly outpacing Q4 2019 results, and even noted that, if things continue shaping up as they are of late, that this growth curve will probably further accelerate in Q2 and Q3.
That would suggest, if we simply extrapolate, that 2020 could end up somewhere around $2-2.5M on the top-line, which would be about 400% in y/y growth. One would assume that trajectory will land shares significantly higher than they are now. And if the stock gets picked up by the momentum virus-stock trading crowd, that shift could be dramatic.
“We are all in this together,” commented Alonzo Pierce, President of ISW Holdings. “As far as performance, we hope current and prospective shareholders understand that we are expanding to catch up with an accelerating flood of demand in our home healthcare segment. We are on pace for easily our best year in Company history. We are also on the verge of an announcement that will qualitatively bolster that trajectory, and we will have more details on that very soon.”
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CytoDyn Inc (OTCMKTS:CYDY) is a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on the clinical development and commercialization of humanized monoclonal antibodies to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
Its lead product is PRO 140, a therapeutic anti-viral agent, which is in Phase IIb extension study for HIV as monotherapy, rollover study for HIV as a combination therapy, Phase IIb/III investigative trial for HIV, Phase Ib/II trial for triple-negative breast cancer, and Phase II trial for graft-versus-host disease.
However, the big plotline right now is about speculation that its HIV drug may prove to be a valid COVID-19 treatment, or at least a part of a recipe that could help.
CytoDyn Inc. has strategic agreement with Samsung BioLogics Co. Ltd. for the clinical and commercial manufacturing of leronlimab. The company was formerly known as RexRay Corporation. CytoDyn Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Vancouver, Washington.
According to company materials, “CytoDyn is a biotechnology company developing innovative treatments for multiple therapeutic indications based on leronlimab, a novel humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the CCR5 receptor. CCR5 appears to play a key role in the ability of HIV to enter and infect healthy T-cells. The CCR5 receptor also appears to be implicated in tumor metastasis and in immune-mediated illnesses, such as GvHD and NASH. CytoDyn has successfully completed a Phase 3 pivotal trial with leronlimab in combination with standard anti-retroviral therapies in HIV-infected treatment-experienced patients. CytoDyn plans to seek FDA approval for leronlimab in combination therapy and plans to complete the filing of a Biologics License Application (BLA) in 2019 for that indication. CytoDyn is also conducting a Phase 3 investigative trial with leronlimab (PRO 140) as a once-weekly monotherapy for HIV-infected patients and, plans to initiate a registration-directed study of leronlimab monotherapy indication, which if successful, could support a label extension. Clinical results to date from multiple trials have shown that leronlimab (PRO 140) can significantly reduce viral burden in people infected with HIV with no reported drug-related serious adverse events (SAEs). Moreover, results from a Phase 2b clinical trial demonstrated that leronlimab monotherapy can prevent viral escape in HIV-infected patients, with some patients on leronlimab monotherapy remaining virally suppressed for more than five years. CytoDyn is also conducting a Phase 2 trial to evaluate leronlimab for the prevention of GvHD and a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial with leronlimab in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.”
CytoDyn Inc (OTCMKTS:CYDY) had no reported sales in its last quarterly financial data. In addition, the company is battling some balance sheet hurdles, with cash levels struggling to keep up with current liabilities ($1.2M against $29.7M, respectively).
