Health and Healthcare

Major Fallout Stocks After Confirmed Ebola Case in United States

Tuesday brought the very unfortunate news that a confirmed case of Ebola has arrived in the United States. With the CDC not releasing enough data on the patient, there could be an opportunity for traders on both sides of the Ebola story. 24/7 Wall St. has included a few of the companies that are seeing gains from the Ebola theme.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) shares were up only 5.3% shortly ahead of the opening bell on 20,000 shares or so. The stock was initially up 5% at $9.78 and then was up over 10% and just above $10 in the after-hours on Tuesday, but that was after a 6.7% drop to $9.78 in regular trading. Its 52-week range is $4.55 to $14.62. J.P. Morgan gave this an Overweight rating and $20 price target on August 8.

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) was up 5% at $21.10 on about 15,000 shares on Wednesday before the opening bell. This stock was up 8% at $22.80 initially, and then up 6% at $22.50 in the after-hours on Tuesday, but that was after a 1.8% drop to $21.10 in regular trading. Sarepta’s 52-week range is $12.12 to $55.61. One analyst said on September 24 that there could be as much as 75% upside in Sarepta shares. The CEO was on CNBC Tuesday afternoon as well.

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Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: TKMR) traded up almost 25% at $26.51 in Wednesday’s premarket session on more than 300,000 shares. Tekmira shares were up close to 24% at $25.80 in the after-hours trading session on Tuesday evening. Its 52-week trading range is $6.93 to $31.48. Our report from August 11: Can Tekmira make much from its Ebola treatment?

Lakeland Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LAKE) is perhaps the face of any contagion fears. The company makes protective suits for chemical and biological settings. The company even recently announced that its protective Hazmat suits for Ebola were available globally. Lakeland is a thin volume stock, but its shares were indicated up more than 12% at $7.83, against a 52-week range of $4.75 to $9.40.

NewLink Genetics Corp. (NASDAQ: NLNK) was a company we have thought of in cancer previously, but a September press release indicated that the FDA has given NewLink permission to proceed with its Phase I trials for its Ebola treatment candidate. We saw this one up 11% at $23.84 on 31,000 shares in premarket trading on Wednesday, and it was up 7% at $22.95 shortly after the open. NewLink’s 52-week trading range is $16.00 to $53.48.

Elsewhere, airline stocks reacted very unfavorably to the news. Major international carriers were down as follows:

American Airlines Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) was down by 2.5% at $34.59 before the open, against a 52-week range of $19.67 to $44.88. Shares were down 25 at $34.79 right after the opening bell.

United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) was down by 1.9% at $45.88, against a 52-week range of $29.11 to $52.45. United Continental shares were down 2.7% at $45.53 right after the open.

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