Markets were melting down on Monday after oil prices dropped 20% over the weekend. Although there are obviously still concerns regarding COVID-19, markets are selling off for a number of reasons. In fact, the morning saw the biggest gap down for the markets in over 12 years, and markets were halted within the first 10 minutes of trading as the S&P 500 had dropped the requisite 7%.
Coronavirus fears are now a pandemic, at least in the markets. All major American averages were down over 6% early Monday, after some of the worst drops since the financial crisis more than a decade ago. While Monday’s move was largely driven by other factors, the coronavirus played its part. Currently, the gains for the year for each of these major averages have been wiped out, and then some.
As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, China is facing an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, and this has spread to countries around the world. Global infections of roughly 111,000 people have been reported, and about 31,000 of these were outside of mainland China. However, there are concerns that China is underreporting these numbers, and asymptomatic transmission is a troubling issue.
There are currently 45,000 active cases of the coronavirus and over 66,000 closed cases. Of the cases with outcomes, nearly 62,000 of those infected have recovered, while there have been over 3,800 reported deaths.
The economic concerns of the coronavirus are mounting, and companies with production in China are likely to see the biggest impact. However, global gross domestic product numbers could see a drop as more companies take precautionary measures rather than risk infection. With a more cautious approach to business, it’s easy to see how the global economy would slow down, especially with China acting as one of the biggest manufacturers.
[nativounit]
24/7 Wall St. has tracked some stocks that either are defensive in general or are defying Monday’s big drop because they have some aspect of their business that might be immune to daily scares or they are potential beneficiaries of these moves.
Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) shares were trading down 7% at $11.55 Monday morning, in a 52-week range of $3.54 to $17.71. The consensus price target is $14.25.
Altimmune Inc. (NASDAQ: ALT) shares were down about 11% at $3.34, in a 52-week range of $1.51 to $4.45. The consensus price target is $13.00.
NanoViricides Inc. (NYSE: NNVC) stock pushed 13% lower to $9.69 on Monday. The 52-week range is $1.27 to $19.20.
Lakeland Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LAKE) shares were down 10% at $14.85, in a 52-week range of $9.70 to $28.00. The consensus price target is $16.00.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INO) shares traded up 22% at $17.17. The 52-week range is $1.92 to $19.00, and the consensus price target is $9.43.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) shares were down about 5% at $75.94. The 52-week range is $60.89 to $80.40. The consensus price target is $73.48.
Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) shares were trading up less than 1% at $174.02, in a 52-week range of $144.12 to $177.32. The consensus price target is $155.15.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) stock traded down over 3% at $108.18, in a 52-week range of $84.05 to $118.58. The consensus price target is $111.73.
Co-Diagnostics Inc. (NASDAQ: CODX) stock was down 5% at $12.25. It has a 52-week range of $0.69 to $21.75 and a consensus analyst target of $11.00.
Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) traded down 5% at $108.42, in a post-IPO range of $59.94 to $129.83.
[recirclink id=650242][wallst_email_signup]
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks