UPDATE: How Coronavirus Stocks Responded to Thursday's Sell-Off

Investing

Published: March 12, 2020 10:41 am

Last Updated: March 14, 2020 8:23 am

Markets were crushed again on Thursday after President Trump announced a travel ban to Europe on Wednesday night. The concerns regarding COVID-19 are only growing, and markets are selling off yet again. In fact, Thursday morning saw another big gap down, comparable to Monday, and markets were halted within the first 10 minutes of trading as the S&P 500 had dropped the requisite 7%.

UPDATE: PRICES HAVE BEEN UPDATED FOR THE MARKET CLOSE

Coronavirus fears are now a pandemic of their own. All major American averages closed down close to 10%. The Dow had its worst percentage loss today since 1987 and its worst point loss ever. While Thursday’s move was largely driven by the president’s travel ban, the coronavirus was integral to this and the underlying concerns are becoming increasingly real. Currently, the gains for the year for each of these major averages have been completely wiped out, and then some.

As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, China first faced the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which spread to countries around the world. Global infections of roughly 129,500 people have been reported, and about 49,000 of these were outside of mainland China. However, there are concerns that these numbers could be underreported as testing kits are not widely available, and asymptomatic transmission is a troubling issue.

There are currently 56,500 active cases of the coronavirus and over 73,000 closed cases. Of the cases with outcomes, nearly 69,000 of those infected have recovered, while there have been over 4,700 reported deaths.

The economic concerns of the coronavirus are mounting, and all sectors undoubtedly will be feeling this. 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 is slamming the brakes, especially with China acting as one of the biggest manufacturers.

24/7 Wall St. has tracked some stocks that either are defensive in general or are defying Thursday’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. Note that while some of these stocks may be immune to some coronavirus shocks, not all are immune to a market downturn.

Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) shares closed down 11.6% at $9.29 on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $3.54 to $17.71. The consensus price target is $14.25.

Aytu BioScience Inc. (NASDAQ: AYTU) shares closed up 36% to $1.84. The 52-week range is $0.34 to $2.99, and the consensus price target is $4.88.

Altimmune Inc. (NASDAQ: ALT) shares closed up 3.5% to $3.30, in a 52-week range of $1.51 to $4.45. The consensus price target is $13.00.

NanoViricides Inc. (NYSE: NNVC) stock pushed 6.5% lower to $7.50 at the close. The 52-week range is $1.27 to $19.20.

Lakeland Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LAKE) shares closed down 4% at $15.74, 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 13.5% at $9.50. The 52-week range is $1.92 to $19.36, and the consensus price target is $9.43.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) shares were down about 6% at $68.58. The 52-week range is $60.89 to $80.40. The consensus price target is $74.04.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) shares closed down 6% at $158.73, in a 52-week range of $144.12 to $178.88. The consensus price target is $157.38.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) stock closed down over 9% at $90.49, in a 52-week range of $84.32 to $118.58. The consensus price target is $111.73.

Co-Diagnostics Inc. (NASDAQ: CODX) stock closed down 10% at $11.76. It has a 52-week range of $0.69 to $21.75 and a consensus analyst target of $19.00.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) closed down less than 1% at $109.47, in a post-IPO range of $59.94 to $129.83.