4 (More) Biotech Stocks to Buy

Advertisement

Back on Aug. 4, yours truly took a detailed look at four biotech stocks with a lot of upside potential.

biotech stocks
Source: ©iStock.com/Chepko

The great part about trading biotech stocks, though, is that there’s always a fresh flow of new opportunities.

To that end, here’s a closer look at four more biotech stocks you may want to put on your watch list … if not in your portfolio.

Biotech Stocks to Buy: Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ)

Biotech Stocks to Buy: Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ)

It’s a rarity to come across biotech stocks of companies that are profitable but also have a pipeline that could be considered game-changing. So, when one is found, at the very least it deserves a spot on a watchlist of potential stocks to buy.

Enter Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ).

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is the name behind eight different drugs available in the United States, with some of them available overseas as well. None of them could be considered remarkable, but all of them are decidedly marketable — as well as profitable. That’s the “value” aspect of JAZZ stock.

The “growth” aspect of a stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals stems from its pipeline, which includes JZP-110 and JZP-386. JZP-110 is in Phase 2 trials as a treatment of EDS (extreme daytime sleepiness) for patients with narcolepsy. JZP-386 is in Phase 1 development as a straight-up treatment for narcolepsy; even with some recent dosing issues, JZP-386 is compelling. Neither drug is apt to become so-called blockbusters, but both represent more high-margin revenue for Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

Dependable, profitable revenue now? More revenue later? What’s not to like?

Biotech Stocks to Buy: Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG)

Biotech Stocks to Buy:Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG)

Stepping into Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) right now isn’t exactly for the faint of heart. If you’re willing to take a calculated risk though, there’s a good reason to add CELG stock to your list of biotech stocks to buy here.

The bet: On Feb. 22, the FDA is expected to decide whether or not REVLIMID — a multiple myeloma treatment made by Celgene — will be approved in the United States as a first-line therapy for the disease.

REVLIMID is already approved as a means to treat relapse patients that have already tried one of the approved first-line drugs, generating $5 billion in sales last year. If approved for this purpose, Celegene believes the drug could generate up to $2 billion more in revenue per year.

Biotech Stocks to Buy: bluebird bio Inc (BLUE)

bluebird-bio-blue-stock-logo-185To be perfectly clear, the value of bluebird bio Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) shares lies mostly in the potential approval of a drug currently in early trials. As encouraging as it may look (more on that in a moment), the time between now and an actual approval is measured in years, and plenty could happen in the meantime. That being said…

As veteran traders of biotech stocks can attest, the market rewards research and development milestones as they’re met. And, it looks like one of the drugs in development by bluebird is setting itself up for a string of exciting updates.

That drug is LentiGlobin BB305, as a treatment for beta-thalassemia (a blood disorder the crimps the production of hemoglobin). Though there’s still a great deal of R&D left to be done, the fact that the FDA recently granted LentiGlobin BB305 a “breakthrough therapy” status, which suggests there’s a major need the agency is hoping this drug could meet.

Though it’s still not the safest of biotech stocks to buy, it’s an interesting prospect for the risk-tolerant.

Biotech Stocks to Buy: Illumina, Inc. (ILMN)

illumina, biotech stocks

A couple years ago when genome sequencing was young yet marketable, Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) was one of a few stocks that were all the rage … possibly because it was caught up in the gene sequencing M&A bonanza of 2012.

It’s proverbially fallen off the radar, however, as the industry became old hat. Big mistake.

Over the course of 2013 and 2014, Illumina improved its annual revenue by 62%, more than doubled its net income, and — oh yeah — ILMN stock gained 250%.

And there’s plenty more where that came from. Though the sequencing industry has exploded since 2012’s M&A bonanza, it’s still nowhere close to its full potential. Some industry experts believe the business could be worth more than $10 billion by 2014, well up from 2013’s global total of less than $5 billion.

As for why ILMN stock is one of the best biotech stocks to buy as a way to get into the gene-sequencing game, aside from the fact that it’s profitable, Illumina is also the technological leader in genome sequencing technology.

That’s allowed it to secure its place as the low-cost gene-mapping name too. Its HiSeq X hardware can sequence a genome for only $1,000, and the company could continue to lower that price … right down to a level that makes gene-sequencing a routine procedure.

As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

More From InvestorPlace


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/02/jazz-celg-blue-ilmn-4-more-biotech-stocks-to-buy/.

©2024 InvestorPlace Media, LLC