The S&P 500 roared to a record high earlier this year, confirming we are indeed in a bull market, and that's great news for growth stocks. These market environments favor companies that are expanding rapidly and investing to build their businesses. Some of these players have benefited, leading gains in the broader market, but others have been left behind, even though they offer exciting long-term prospects.
And these are the players to scoop up today, because they're just waiting to soar. Three in particular come to mind right now, each a player in the biotech space -- an area rich with innovation that could lead to revenue growth and share price performance. Let's check out these stocks that could climb in the bull market and beyond.
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1. Moderna
Moderna(NASDAQ: MRNA) soared earlier in the pandemic, as the company generated billions of dollars in earnings from its coronavirus vaccine. As vaccine demand declined, though, so did shares of this biotech company. Since the vaccine is the company's only commercialized product right now, investors worried about future growth.
But there's reason to be optimistic about Moderna's long-term picture, and the company may even launch a second product as soon as this year. Regulators are reviewing Moderna's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate and may announce a decision in the coming months. The company also has several other late-stage candidates in the pipeline and last year said it aims to launch as many as 15 products in the coming five years.
Even if Moderna only achieves a small part of the goal, this could supercharge growth in the coming years. The company estimates the total addressable market for its infectious disease vaccine portfolio totals about $52 billion. So, right now, Moderna looks dirt cheap, trading at about 8.5x forward earnings estimates.
2. Intellia Therapeutics
Intellia Therapeutics(NASDAQ: NTLA) specializes in CRISPR gene editing, which fixes faulty genes responsible for disease. The technique involves cutting DNA at a certain location so that a natural repair process can happen.
This innovative company doesn't yet have a product on the market, but it could reach commercialization soon and has several key catalysts and goals coming up.
Intellia recently dosed the first patient in its phase 3 trial of NTLA-2001 for transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR). Intellia aims to complete patient enrollment for this study as well as the pivotal study of NTLA-2002 for hereditary angioedema (HAE) within the coming three years and apply for the regulatory approval of NTLA-2002 in 2026. ATTR, caused by an accumulation of a misfolded protein, impacts various organs, while HAE is a condition that results in excessive and unpredictable swelling.
This is a great time for Intellia to be nearing the regulatory finish line. Peer CRISPR Therapeutics recently won approval for the world's first CRISPR-based treatment, showing regulators are open to giving the nod to this newish technology. So now could be the moment to get in on Intellia stock.
3. Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks(NYSE: DNA) is a cell engineering and biosecurity company that has game-changing potential across industries. Healthcare represents a particularly interesting opportunity, and the company is seeing growth in this area, with biopharma revenue soaring 40% last year from the prior year.
The company's platform can help drugmakers select the best molecules and improve manufacturing processes, for example, and Ginkgo already works with many well-known companies, from Pfizer to Eli Lilly. Ginkgo's number of new biopharma programs also has advanced, reaching 23 today from seven back in 2020.
Ginkgo is in growth mode right now, adding more and more cell engineering programs to its portfolio and ramping up its biosecurity business to focus on long-term infrastructure -- this should lead to a recurrent revenue model for the biosecurity unit.
And Ginkgo has the financial strength to keep the growth going, with almost $950 million in cash the company says it has a multi-year runway to reach profitability and other goals. All of this could position Ginkgo shares for explosive growth -- and that means an investment today could pay off over the long run.
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Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CRISPR Therapeutics, Intellia Therapeutics, and Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends Moderna. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
