Are These Top Biotech Stocks On Your Watchlist? 3 In Focus
During a pandemic, the healthcare industry would normally be in the spotlight. Because of this, we have seen biotech stocks become the top performers on the stock market. Throughout 2020, many biotech companies shifted their focus towards fighting the coronavirus. Whether it was a vaccine or rapid testing kits, demand was high and key players in the industry stepped up to meet those demands. As a result, prominent vaccine frontrunners Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) and BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) are now sitting on gains upwards of 200% in the past year. Co-Diagnostics (NASDAQ: CODX), which was among the earliest companies to develop an effective coronavirus test kit, is also up by over 400% in the same period.
On top of that, the industry as a whole shows no signs of slowing down as well. Countless companies in the sector have been employing innovative technologies to develop treatments for a wide range of illnesses. The fields of cancer, gene editing, rare diseases, and even infectious diseases have continued to bring investors many returns. Furthermore, Bloomberg Intelligence suggests that the sector could continue to boom, given its defensive nature. Seeing as the coronavirus pandemic has been resurging across the globe, this may be the case.
All this may come off as a rather exciting opportunity, but it is also important to note that the sector is known to show instances of volatility. This is often due to industry-specific factors such as regulatory setbacks and negative clinical results. Nevertheless, for investors who are looking for a point of entry into the industry, there are plenty of choices. If you are one of them, take a look at these top biotech stocks to watch that are making moves now.
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Biotech Stocks To Watch In February
- 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD)
- Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE)
- Cardiff Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDF)
3D Systems Corporation
First up, we will be looking at 3D printing company 3D Systems. Yes, you read that right. Well, the company also provides regenerative medicine and bioprinting solutions. To clarify, these services are available via its organ manufacturing and transplant subsidiary, Lung Biotechnology PBC (Lung Biotech). 3D Systems has been in the spotlight since the trading year started with gains of over 300%. In fact, DDD stock jumped by over 13% yesterday on account of news regarding its bioprinting business.
3D Systems announced that it would be expanding its biotech development efforts in collaboration with United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR). Lung Biotech will work together with United to develop 3D printing systems for solid-organ scaffolds. Building on its significant progress with lung scaffolds last year, 3D Systems seems to be bolstering its regenerative medicine R&D efforts. CEO Jeffrey Graves said, “Taking a strong application focus we will now expand our commercialization efforts in this nascent industry, which we believe will experience significant growth over the next decade.” Could this be the beginning of exciting times for DDD stock? It may be too soon to say.
In terms of financials, the company also appears to be kicking into high gear as well. Earlier this month, 3D Systems announced that it had completed the sale of its non-essential software businesses and provided preliminary financials from its recent quarter. According to the outlook, the company surpassed its prior-year pre-pandemic revenue performance. For one thing, 3D Systems has successfully streamlined its business and is investing in its emerging biotech division. Also, the company is slated to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 results in late February. Do you think investors should be watching DDD stock ahead of that?
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Sorrento Therapeutics Inc.
Another biotech stock in focus now would be Sorrento. The biopharmaceutical company researches antibody-based treatments. Its development pipeline consists of treatments for cancer, COVID-19, and other infectious diseases. Notably, SRNE stock surged by over 46% during intraday trading yesterday. This lines up with the company’s latest update on its COVID-19 treatment the previous night.
On January 26 after the closing bell, Sorrento released the results of its Phase 1b study of its COVI-MSC treatment. The treatment is meant to help patients suffering from COVID-19-induced acute respiratory distress (ARD). Remarkably, the first three patients enrolled in the trial tolerated treatment well and showed rapid improvement. After receiving the initial dose of Sorrento’s treatment, all three patients were discharged from the hospital within a week. One of the patients had even been in the hospital for three weeks due to recurrent ARD before this. If this turns out to be the case for future studies, SRNE stock could be looking at huge gains in the future. Understandably, this could be why investors were so focused on the company’s shares yesterday.
Adding to that, Sorrento saw stellar figures in its recent quarter fiscal as well. The company reported that its total revenue and cash on hand more than doubled year-over-year. With its recent development, the company continues to advance its impressive COVID-19 portfolio. All things considered, Sorrento appears to be firing on all cylinders with a plethora of projects on its development pipeline. Could this make SRNE stock a top biotech stock to watch? I’ll let you decide.
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Cardiff Oncology Inc.
Cardiff Oncology, or CardiffOnc, is a clinical-stage biotech company that specializes in the development of cancer treatments. Despite the global focus on the coronavirus pandemic, cancer research has remained as important as ever. Research into this deadly illness has led to some of the top biotech stocks reaching new heights. To point out, CRDF stock is looking at gains of over 550% in the past year. Just yesterday, the company’s shares climbed by another 8% with news of its latest FDA regulatory update.
On January 26, CardiffOnc announced that it received an FDA “Study May Proceed” letter for a Phase 2 clinical trial using onvansertib. It is proposed to treat metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PDAC is the most common variation of pancreatic cancer, it is also a notoriously lethal disease. So lethal, in fact, that less than 2% of patients with PDAC survive more than ten years. CEO Mark Erlander said, “we believe we can offer a promising new treatment option that has the potential to improve patient outcomes.” Ideally, if CardiffOnc finds success in this treatment, it could bode well for CRDF stock.
The upcoming cancer treatment company also had a fantastic financial quarter. Back in November, the company reported huge year-over-year jumps of 163% in total revenue and 303% in cash on hand. CardiffOnc cited positive results from its flagship products as driving factors behind its robust growth for the quarter. As the field of cancer research continues to expand, CRDF stock could see more room to grow for the foreseeable future. With all that in mind, will you be adding CRDF stock to your watchlist?
