$NBY A Masked Resurgence Recently, a litany of institutions have been reinstating mask mandates amidst a summer surge of Covid cases due to the Eris variant spread. These mask mandates may be a major catalyst for mask manufacturers. One of the mask manufacturers that stand to benefit from these mandates is NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: NBY) which has a history of running on Covid-related news. Considering that more institutions might be inclined to reinstate mask mandates to control the spread of the Eris variant, NBY stock could be one to watch closely as its sales could receive a major boost in the coming quarters – sending its stock higher in turn.
NBY Fundamentals
As the Eris variant relentlessly spreads throughout the US, more and more institutions are mandating masks. These institutions include colleges like Morris Brown College, Atlanta College, and Rutgers University. In addition, large companies like Lionsgate are adopting mask mandates as well which shows that the situation is critical for all of these organizations. As things stand, many other institutions are likely to follow suit due to the rapid spread of the Eris variant which is currently the most prevalent strain in the US – accounting for 20% of its victims.
With this in mind, Eris’ summer surge is showing no signs of stopping any time soon as it is considered to be extremely infectious which is why in the past month the strain doubled its prevalence in the US. That said, as Eris’ infection rate increases, more institutions would be forced to mandate masks to not let the strain impact their operations. For this reason, mask sales in the US may be poised to increase drastically which would see mask manufacturers like NBY achieve better revenues in the coming quarters. In this way, NBY stock could be set to soar in the coming weeks as we see Eris’ full impact.
Speaking of runs, when the Omicron strain was discovered in mid-November 2021, NBY stock surged 43.5%. That said, this catalyst is substantially more potent since mask mandates could be making a resurgence which is why the stock could mirror or even exceed its Omicron run.
NBY Financials
According to the company’s Q2 2023 report, its assets remained relatively unchanged from the beginning of the year – only fluctuating from $16.39 million to $16 million. Meanwhile, liabilities increased from $5.8 million to $7.4 million due to the company obtaining convertible note-related liabilities worth $1.18 million.
When it comes to revenue, NBY experienced a YoY increase from $3.6 million to $4.6 million which was due to product revenue increasing from $3.6 million to $4.5 million. On the other hand, expenses decreased slightly from $3.9 million to $3.6 million which caused the company’s net loss to decrease from $2.1 million to $2 million.
Technical Analysis
NBY stock is in a neutral trend with the stock trading in a sideways channel between $.58 and $.66. Looking at the indicators, the stock is trading above the 50 and 21 MAs which is a bullish sign, and is currently testing the 200 MA as a resistance. Meanwhile, the RSI is neutral at 58 and the MACD is bullish.
As for the fundamentals, the comeback of mask mandates is a major catalyst for the company since the current situation may boost its sales in the coming quarters. Considering the stock’s previous run on the discovery of the Omicron strain, it may likely replicate that run or even exceed since the Eris strain is highly infectious. For this reason, bullish investors could find retests of the 50 MA a good entry point into NBY stock.
NBY Forecast
Mask mandates are being reinstated in the US and more institutions are likely to mandate masks in the coming weeks as the Eris strain continues infecting people. Given that Eris is highly infectious, mask mandates could gain traction among large companies and institutions to not let the variant impact their businesses. For this reason, mask manufacturers are likely to witness high demand for their products which makes stocks like NBY stock lucrative investments to capitalize on Covid’s resurgence.
