Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:BIIB,ALNY,ARQL,AMGN,

Clinical-stage biotechs can be veritable goldmines for patient investors. The caveat, however, is that it can immensely difficult to predict which companies are actually worth the wait.

For instance, the developmental biotech Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARA) has been making steady progress in the clinic with its novel kappa receptor agonist, Korsuva (CR845), over the past few years. If approved, this drug should generate tremendous upside for investors, but there's also substantial risks involved for early shareholders at this stage of the game.

Image source: Getty Images.

As such, I think it's definitely worth contemplating where this promising clinical-stage biotech might be in five years from now -- that is, prior to buying shares. Let's dig in to find out.��

Cara's present

Korsuva is in early- to late-stage trials for various pruritus (itching) indications, as well as acute postoperative pain.�The big draw here for investors is that this experimental drug is designed to be far less addictive than traditional opioids, potentially making it a powerful new tool in the battle against the raging opioid epidemic.

Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) were up 15.2% as of 11:35 a.m. EDT on Friday after the biotech, along with partner Eisai, reported encouraging results from a phase 2 clinical study of BAN2401 in treating Alzheimer's disease. Patients taking BAN2401 achieved statistically significant�improvement compared to patients on placebo after 18 months in�slowing progression of Alzheimer's disease and in the reduction�of�amyloid�accumulations in�the brain.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Wednesday was Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) which traded down about 6% at 297.99. The stock��s 52-week range is $244.28 to $370.67. Volume was about 5 million compared to the daily average volume of roughly 1 million.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) increased to 3.50 million shares from the previous 3.16 million. The stock recently traded at $262.15, within a 52-week range of $244.28 to $370.57.

Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  I wrote three months ago that I viewed Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) stock as a pretty good pick -- but with a couple of qualifications. First, I didn't think that the biotech would generate returns in 2018 nearly as great as it did last year. Second, I thought that there were even better stocks to buy than Alnylam.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a hold rating to a sell rating. According to Zacks, “Although Alnylam has a broad and promising pipeline, we note that most candidates are in mid stages of development. These candidates still have a long way to go before hitting the market. The company relies highly on collaborators for funding. Any development/regulatory setback would be a negative for the company.  However, Alnylam reported positive data from the ATLAS study in the first quarter which led to regulatory filings for its late-stage pipeline candidate patisiran and the FDA set an action date of Aug 11, 2018. The company along with its partners Sanofi and The Medicines Company, restarted fitusiran's ATLAS phase III study and advanced inclisiran in the ORION-9, -10, and -11 phase III studies, respectively, with results expected for both programs in 2019. Alnylam expects to achieve the profile of three marketed products by the end of 2020.”

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Brian Orelli]

  The delay in an FDA decision for Tegsedi puts it behind competitor Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY), which expects to hear from the FDA by Aug. 11 for its hATTR drug patisiran. But Sarah Boyce, the president at Akcea Therapeutics, doesn't think a few months will really matter: "We don't really feel that's going to have any impact and the drugs will be close enough together from a launch perspective. So not really [going] to make any adjustments, and we're very well prepared to be ready to launch following approval."

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  BidaskClub lowered shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday.

• [By Sean Williams, Chuck Saletta, and Brian Feroldi]

  So, which biotech stocks should you consider buying in June? That's a question we posed to three of our healthcare-focused investors. Interestingly enough, mid-cap biotech stocks are the clear flavor of the month. If biotech is on your radar in June, our investors suggest you consider Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS), Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ONCE), and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY).

Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MLNT) shares surged 20.6 percent to $6.39. WBB Securities upgraded Melinta Therapeutics from Hold to Speculative Buy. Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL) shares climbed 17.2 percent to $30.87 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Acorn International, Inc. (NYSE: ATV) shares rose 15.2 percent to $28.804 after the company declared a special one-time cash dividend of $14.97 per ADS. Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) gained 15 percent to $53.35 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOS) surged 14.2 percent to $2.625. ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) rose 13 percent to $5.12 after gaining 4.86 percent on Thursday. Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) gained 12.8 percent to $16.97 after the company posted better-than-expected FQ4 results. Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima (NYSE: LOMA) shares rose 12 percent to $12.94. ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) shares rose 12 percent to $5.07. Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRTX) climbed 11.4 percent to $43.50. Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ: ZLAB) gained 11.3 percent to $24.7000. Zymeworks Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYME) rose 9.7 percent to $19.64. Park City Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYG) climbed 9 percent to $7.90. Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) gained 7.9 percent to $38.82 after Citron reversed previously bearish position on the stock. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) shares jumped 7.3 percent to $3.55. Deckers Outdoor Corp (NYSE: DECK) rose 3.5 percent to $107.27 after reporting better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter.

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) rose 15.3 percent to $53.50 in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter. Evofem Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVFM) rose 10.4 percent to $4.58 in pre-market trading. Evofem Biosciences reported closing of public offering of common stock and warrants. Resonant Inc. (NASDAQ: RESN) rose 7.3 percent to $4.88 in pre-market trading after declining 1.94 percent on Thursday. SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) shares rose 5.7 percent to $59.65 in pre-market trading after falling 8.43 percent on Thursday. Yirendai Ltd. (NYSE: YRD) rose 5 percent to $30.00 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Deckers Outdoor Corp (NYSE: DECK) rose 4.9 percent to $108.75 in pre-market trading after reporteingd better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter. Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: APRN) rose 4.2 percent to $3.21 in pre-market trading after gaining 3.70 percent on Thursday. Recro Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: REPH) rose 4 percent to $5.85 in pre-market trading after dropping 54.67 percent on Thursday. ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) rose 3.8 percent to $4.70 in pre-market trading after gaining 4.86 percent on Thursday. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: BW) shares rose 2.9 percent to $2.85 in pre-market trading after climbing 7.78 percent on Thursday. Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ: BILI) shares rose 2.5 percent to $14.20 in pre-market trading after surging 11.33 percent on Thursday.

  Find out what's going on in today's market and bring any questions you have to Benzinga's PreMarket Prep.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

  Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ARQL. Zacks Investment Research upgraded ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $2.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 20th. BidaskClub upgraded ArQule from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Saturday, March 24th. B. Riley set a $4.00 price objective on ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 26th. Leerink Swann upgraded ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their price objective on ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $5.35.

Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) has been the hands-down winner over Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) in terms of stock performance over the last year. It's the same story for revenue generated. Celgene beat Amgen in earnings, but only because of a technicality: Amgen incurred a big one-time tax hit in 2017.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:LIFE) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw its short interest fall slightly to 10.61 million shares from the previous level of 10.72 million. Shares were last seen at $184.59, in a 52-week trading range of $163.31 to $201.23.