Investors turn to biotech as vaccine roll-out cools sentiment on big pharma
Other sectors set to benefit as lockdown eases
Sectors such as telemedicine could boom over the course of the year
Any halo earned from helping tackle the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to be short-lived for big pharma, according to asset managers who are turning their sights towards biotech and telehealth as the world slowly returns to normal.
On 8 December 2020, England became the first country to roll out a Covid-19 vaccine, a jab developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
In the months leading up to that, the healthcare sector took a leading role during the Covid-19 pandemic, with many investors backing firms that work to develop treatments for the virus.
The article was published in the March 2021 issue of Morningstar FundInvestor. Download a complimentary copy of FundInvestor by visiting the website.
In January, T. Rowe Price announced that manager Larry Puglia will retire from T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth (TRBCX) after a great run dating to 1993. After the announcement, we maintained our Above Average People and Process ratings and a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Silver.
No, we weren’t downplaying Puglia’s role or skill. Rather, we saw this coming and were comfortable with the situation. T. Rowe Price generally maps out manager transitions over a two-year period, so the new manager has time to get up to speed and investors have time to research the change.