Investors reap windfalls picking coronavirus winners among medical equipment suppliers, mask producers as China searches for cure
- Shares of equipment suppliers and devices distributors have risen as much as 128 per cent amid rush for cure against coronavirus
- Epidemic is developing into the biggest health crisis in decades as death toll surpasses tally during Sars outbreak in 2003
Investors betting on Chinese medical-related stocks are reaping a windfall in the onshore stock market, as the deadly coronavirus outbreak has led to a surge in demand for supplies and equipment to fight the disease.
The biggest health scare in decades is prompting analysts to revisit their earnings forecasts for some companies, from drug distributors to suppliers of diagnostic devices and medical equipment, whose stocks have rocketed by as much as 128 per cent since the outbreak became widespread last month.
“Investors can find winners in online pharmacy operators, makers of diagnostic devices, patient monitoring equipment and surgical mask and protective gear producers,” said He Wei, an analyst at Eastmoney Securities based in Shanghai. That is besides the obvious pick among antiviral drugs producers, he added.
Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, China’s largest hospital devices maker, could see a doubling in revenue from Hubei province this quarter from a year earlier, analysts at Huatai Securities estimated in a research note last week. Its nationwide revenue could jump by 30 per cent in that period, they said.