Best Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:ALNY,AMGN,ARQL,BIIB,

Happy Sunday! And welcome to another edition of "3 Things in Biotech You Should Learn Today," a daily digest dedicated to helping you gauge recent news in pharma and biotech. And there has been a lot of exciting stuff in the last few days...

So let's get into it!

Cara Therapeutics scores breakthrough in an odd affliction

We don't hear a lot about drug development in supportive care, often owing to the relatively low priority placed on it by the pharmaceutical industry. It's not out of malice; there's just not a ton of effective potential pharmacologic intervention for a lot of treatment- and disease-related side effects.

But that doesn't mean there is no forward momentum in supportive care. For example, Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARA) is developing CR845 for uremic pruritis that is a complication of chronic kidney disease.

Well, the FDA has seen fit to designate CR845 as a breakthrough drug, which gives you a sense of the importance of this unmet need. As always, breakthrough designations give some crucial benefits to a developmental agent, not the least of which is the potential for a significantly curtailed developmental pathway.

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Crumly]

  Commercial success for Tegsedi is not a done deal even if it's approved worldwide; Alnylam Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:ALNY) competing drug patisiran was approved by the FDA on Aug. 10. Alnylam's clinical testing showed cardiac benefits for patients whose cardiovascular systems have been affected by the disease, and Alnylam believes that will give patisiran an advantage over Tegsedi. But in the conference call, Akcea executives brushed off that concern and pointed to the advantage Tegsedi has in being an injection that can be delivered at home, versus patisiran, which is administered intravenously in a clinic. We shall see.

• [By Jim Crumly]

  You would think that when a drug company that's been working for 16 years to develop drugs using a novel therapeutic approach wins its first-ever approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), confetti would fall from the ceiling and its investors would be celebrating a huge stock gain the next day. That didn't happen this week for shareholders of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY), with shares dropping 6.6% the day after the announcement, and there were two main reasons for that.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) updated investors last month on how the launch of Onpattro, its first drug that was approved to treat transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR), was going at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) were up 19% at 12:04 p.m. EDT on Monday after rival Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) released data for its transthyretin amyloid (ATTR) drug tafamidis at the ESC Congress 2018, which were also published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Earlier this month, Alnylam got its ATTR drug, Onpattro, approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) and Akcea Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKCA), which are jointly developing another ATTR drug, Tegsedi, are up 10% and 2.6% respectively.

• [By Jim Crumly]

  Drug giant Pfizer released details of a successful trial of a drug for heart damage from a rare disease, and although that company's stock had little reaction, falling 1.9%, shares of companies with potentially competing drugs reacted sharply. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) soared 16.2%, Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) jumped 7.8%, and Eidos Therapeutics (NASDAQ:EIDX) plunged 31.1%.

• [By Cory Renauer]

  Anyone who likes a good underdog story will want to keep their eye on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY) and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:GWPH) through this year and next as they launch their first products in the U.S. Smaller biotechs have a terrible track record when it comes to launching new drugs on their own, but most analysts expect these companies to buck the trend and propel their recently approved drugs to blockbuster status within a few years.

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The iShares biotech ETF has a structure that's familiar to anyone who invests regularly in exchange-traded funds. The ETF tracks an index of nearly 200 biotech and pharmaceutical stocks, with roughly 80% of assets dedicated to true biotechs and the rest split evenly between pharma and life sciences equipment and services providers. Top ETF holdings Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB), Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), and Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) make up a total of roughly 25% of the fund's assets.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw its short interest rise to 10.46 million shares from the previous level of 9.49 million. Shares were last seen at $171.94, in a 52-week trading range of $152.16 to $201.23.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $193.19.

• [By ]

  Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) -- Amgen is a leading global biotech developer with a diverse product portfolio and promising development pipeline. The company has special expertise in cancer research and renal failure (kidney disease) treatments. Its biggest blockbuster is the anti-inflammatory drug Enbrel, used primarily for rheumatoid arthritis, which is in the top-five worldwide with annual sales of nearly $8 billion.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) was upgraded by stock analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,120,853 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,484 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $391,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Cory Renauer]

  What's behind these dramatic gains? Read on to find out.

  Company Gain in H1 2018 Market Cap Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) 270% $1.19 billion ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL) 235% $482 million Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECYT) 222% $959 million Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) 205% $3.99 billion

  Data source: YCharts.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on ArQule (ARQL)

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

• [By Money Morning Staff Reports]

  But Blink and our other penny stocks to watch are unlikely to continue to lock in such spectacular gains in June. After looking at our 10 top penny stocks to watch this month, we'll show you a small-cap stock with great profit potential in its future…

  Penny Stock Current Share Price Law Month's Gain  Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK) $7.07 439.85% Senes Tech Inc. (Nasdaq: SNES) $1.27 175.40% Vivis Inc. (Nasdaq: VVUS) $0.77 150.41% Adomani Inc. (Nasdaq: ADOM) $1.49 137.68% NF Energy Saving Co. (Nasdaq: NFEC) $2.34 134.88% Vaalco Energy Inc. (NYSE: EGY) $2.15 109.06% Heat Biologics Inc. (Nasdaq: HTBX) $2.35 99.12% ArQule Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQL) $4.88 90.74% LiqTech International Inc. (NYSE: LIQT) $0.66 85.60% Transenterix Inc. (NYSE: TRXC) $3.46 77.84%

  While last month's gains are tremendous, they also illustrate the inherent dangers that come with investing in penny stocks.

• [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.

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benzinga News Desk]

  A distillery in a small Spanish town has claimed it invented the original Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) recipe and now wants recognition: Link

  ECONOMIC DATA Initial Jobless Claims For Week Ended May 25 221K vs 225K Economist Estimate, Down From 234K In Prior Week Personal Income Apr. Up 0.3%, Personal Spending Up 0.6% The Chicago PMI for May is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 12:30 p.m. ET. Fed Governor Lael Brainard will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET. Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 8:30 p.m. ET. ANALYST RATINGS Canaccord upgrades Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) from Hold to Buy Morgan Stanley upgrades Corning (NYSE: GLW) from Equal-Weight to Overweight Morgan Stanley downgrades Micron (NASDAQ: MU) from Overweight to Equal-Weight Cantor downgrades HealthEquity (NASDAQ: HQY) from Overweight to Neutral

  This is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day — it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. To get the full version of this note every morning, click here.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) increased to 4.33 million shares from the previous 3.86 million. The stock recently traded at $306.68 within a 52-week range of $249.17 to $370.57.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 40.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 183,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 52,654 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $50,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Data source: Alkermes.

  What happened with Alkermes this quarter? Sales of opioid and alcohol-dependence drug Vivitrol increased 11% year over year as states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, and Kentucky increase coverage of the drug as a treatment option for patients suffering from substance-use disorder. Schizophrenia drug Aristada saw sales increase 72% year over year and 35% quarter over quarter, thanks to the launch of Aristada Initio, which helps patients get started on the drug while hospitalized. Alkermes estimates it captured 29% of new prescriptions for long-acting aripiprazole, the active ingredient in Aristada. Ampyra, which goes by Fampyra outside the U.S., brought in $38.8 million, basically flat year over year, which wasn't bad since a generic launched in the U.S. last year. Manufacturing and royalty revenues for Risperdal Consta, Invega Sustenna, and Invega Trinza were up about 4% year over year. Fourth-quarter revenue also included a one-time payment of $26.7 million, which came from the sale of certain royalty streams by Zealand Pharma to Royalty Pharma. In November, Alkermes reported positive data from a second phase-3 clinical trial for schizophrenia drug ALKS 3831 that showed patients taking the drug had lower weight gain than those taking olanzapine. In December, Alkermes and its partner Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) filed for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of diroximel fumarate, which Biogen plans to market under the name Vumerity. In January, Alkermes got bad news from the FDA when the agency turned down the marketing application for its depression drug ALKS 5461.

  Image source: Getty Images.

• [By Todd Campbell]

  Unfortunately for investors, June's discovery wasn't exciting enough for Sangamo partners Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) and Shire (NASDAQ:SHPG). In 2015, Biogen announced a delay to its beta-thalassemia and sickle-cell disease treatment program with Sangamo. And then Shire, a Sangamo collaboration partner since 2012, walked away from Sangamo's hemophilia program.