Why AstraZeneca Stock Was a Winner Today

Good news from the laboratory put some zip into AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) shares on Monday. The veteran pharmaceutical company's shares enjoyed a nearly 3% lift across the trading session as a consequence, a rate that convincingly outpaced the S&P 500 index's 1.5% growth.

Lowering patient, and investor, blood pressure

Early this morning, AstraZeneca shared the results of a phase 3 clinical trial of baxdrostat, its investigational drug for treatment-resistant hypertension (i.e., high blood pressure).

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The company said the treatment met its primary endpoint of demonstrating a notable decline in ambulatory 24-hour average systolic blood pressure. It also demonstrated "statistically significant and clinically meaningful" declines in secondary endpoints. These included reductions in ambulatory nighttime average systolic blood pressure, among other measures.

AstraZeneca's hopes for baxdrostat are high, as in early 2023 it acquired the drug by purchasing its developer -- biotech CinCor Pharma -- in a deal valued at $1.8 billion including potential contingent value payments.

Monster potential

That could turn out to be capital very well spent. AstraZeneca said that currently 1.4 billion people around the world are afflicted by hypertension, and in this country around 50% of such folks do not have their blood pressure under control. If and when the company can bring baxdrostat to market, it would have a very sizable addressable market for the drug indeed.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends AstraZeneca Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.