3 UK Stocks To Watch This Week

This week could see these UK stocks make a bullish reversal

Last Updated August 4th 2021

6 Min Read

Key Points

These stocks have interesting news this week
Two among them are financial-related news for Q2

Historically, August is not a very good month for the stock markets. This time round the situation is made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the threat posed by the Delta variant. Nonetheless, there are stocks that could prove interesting to watch in this first week of August.

Abcam PLC (ABC), Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc (ADAP), and Autolus Therapeutics PLC (AUTL) all have some interesting news this week, and going into next week. Here is why these UK stocks are worth keeping an eye on this week.

UK shares To Watch This Week

Abcam PLC (ABC)

Abcam PLC stock has gapped up quite early in the week, an indicator that upside momentum is on the rise.

The excitement around this stock stems from news that it had entered into an agreement to buy BioVision Inc, in a deal worth $340 million.

This is a big deal considering that BioVision is one of the world’s fastest-growing distributors of research tools for the life sciences. The company has a wide, and growing clientele that cuts across biopharma and academia, and is well known for its capabilities in cell-based assay kits, and biochemicals.

In essence, through this purchase, Abcam is bringing one of its largest suppliers under its fold.

The move is expected to have an impact on the speed at which Abcam executes product innovation, especially in the cell-based assay and the biochemical aspects of the market.

On top of that, this purchase is expected to have a positive impact on Abcam’s full-year results that will be released on December 22nd, 2021.

BioVision has been supplying Abcam for the last 18 years, and by bringing the service in-house, it expects a positive effect especially in epigenetics, oncology, neuroscience, and immune-oncology research.

The news has been so well received that Abcam’s stock has broken out of the bearish channel that it has been trading in for the last three months.

On Monday, it was trading just below the 50-day moving average. Buying momentum increased on Tuesday, and it gapped up above this resistance.

As excitement around the BioVision deal grows in the week, this is one stock that has a good outlook, not just this week, but for several weeks to come.

Adaptimmune Therapeutics PLC (ADAP)

Adaptimmune has some interesting news coming up next week. The British company is expected to release its quarter two earnings results, and also give a business update on August 9th.

Investors will be watching to see how the news will impact its performance through the second half of the year.

Its performance in the last two days is an indicator that investors expect this company to release positive financials for quarter two. The market could also be expecting a positive business update, one that could see it grow revenues going forward.

This is one stock that has lost so much value all through the year, and if it bounces back this week, it would make for a great value play going forward.

It is also important to note that this company’s slide in value has largely been due to speculative reasons, and nothing truly fundamental. Biotech’s usually lost value after failures in drug trials, but Adaptimmune has had nothing of the sort this year.

The key reason for its slide is that its SPEAR platform will release its first regulatory filing next year. For most short-term traders, this is too far, hence the lack of bullish sentiment for the better part of 2021.

The stock also took a hit due to speculation that its solid tumor platform could be sold off to much bigger biotech players such as GSK. While the platform could be quite attractive to such companies, so far nothing of the sort happened.

Essentially, it means that this company’s core fundamentals are rock solid. It also means that at current prices, it is highly undervalued. With positive price action starting to build up, this stock could be one of the most-watched this week, and in the coming week.

Strong Q2 earnings and a positive business report could see it a rocket, and easily change trajectory not just this month, but for the remainder of the year.

Autolus Therapeutics (AUTL)

Autolus Therapeutics started this week with a gap-up, an indicator of increasing buying momentum.

While it eased up a little in Tuesday trading, overall momentum remains bullish, and it has not closed the gap that is established on the first day of August trading.

The news that led to this gap-up is quite big and could draw investor interest to this stock not just this week, but all through August.

On August 2nd, Autolus announced that it had entered into an agreement with Moderna. Under the agreement, Moderna will have exclusive rights to develop and sell mRNA using Autolus binders. The proprietary binders can be used up to 4 times for immuno-oncology targets.

Under the deal, Autolus will have the right to get an upfront payment for each of the targets that have been licensed to Moderna. The company will also be eligible to receive staggered payments based on the attainment of certain development and revenue milestones when the developed products hit the market.

The company will also be eligible to get royalties on all net sales from products that Moderna will develop using its technology.

This is likely to have a positive impact on the stock’s revenues going forward. For a stock that has been on a downtrend for the better part of July, this could be the trigger that could see it change course in the near term.

Autolus will also be releasing its quarter two results, on August 5th, and this will keep the spotlight on this stock going for the better part of the week. If the financials come out positive, the stock could experience a boost to the bullish momentum that started earlier in the week.

Autolus Therapeutics is definitely one of the more interesting UK stocks to watch this week.