Top Stocks to Watch Today: IONS, NVAX, VRX

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These Banks Moved After Earnings

 

Money Morning Options Trading Specialist Tom Gentile predicted how the top three bank stocks would move after earnings... and he was right.

The top stocks to watch today (Tuesday, May 9) are Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: IONS), Novavax Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX).

Earnings reports are driving these medical stocks higher in early morning trading.

Yesterday, the S&P 500 Health Care (Sector) (INDEXSP: SP500-35) was down 0.57%. Today, about 20 healthcare stocks report earnings. So far today, the reports have beaten estimates, driving stock prices higher.

Here are the three top stocks to watch today and why they are in focus today...

Top Stocks to Watch Today: Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: IONS)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock is up 2.2% in early morning trading ahead of its earnings announcement.

The company specializes in ribonucleic acid (RNA) targeted therapies to treat rare genetic diseases.

Ionis is scheduled to release its earnings report today at 11:30 a.m. Analysts are expecting the company to report EPS of $0.05. However, last quarter the company beat expectations by $0.33.

Last quarter, analysts expected the company to post EPS of -$0.12, but the announcement came in at $0.21.

This would mark the third straight quarter of positive earnings.

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IONS stock is currently trading at $45.30 for a loss of 5.3% so far this year.

Top Stocks to Watch Today: Novavax Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX)

Novavax stock is up 9% in early morning trading after announcing an earnings report that beat expectations.

The clinical-stage vaccine company is currently working on an RSV vaccine. If the phase 3 trials go well, this could be the first FDA-approved vaccine for RSV.

The company lost $0.16 per share for Q1, but that is an improvement over the $0.29 per share loss for the same quarter last year. Analysts were expecting a loss of $0.17 per share.

Revenue increased to $5.7 million this quarter. That's a 35% increase over the same quarter last year.

NVAX stock is trading at $0.734 for a loss of 41.8% year to date (YTD).

Top Stocks to Watch Today: Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX)

Valeant stock is up 19% in early morning trading after posting its earnings report.

The embattled pharmaceutical and medical device company posted EPS of $1.79. This is a huge turnaround compared to a loss of $1.08 a share for the same quarter last year. The EPS also beat the expected $0.87.

Despite beating earnings estimates, revenue missed. The company announced revenue of $2.11 billion, while analysts expected $2.18 billion. Last year, the company announced $2.37 billion in revenue for the same period.

VRX is currently trading at $9.71 for a loss of 33.1% YTD.

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