Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:ALNY,ARQL,AMGN,BIIB,

The IPO market came back full force this week following the July 4th pause. Nine deals raised a combined $931 million, averaging a gain of 29%.

Five biotechs went public, including top performer Allakos, which finished the week up 95%. Tilray grabbed headlines as the first marijuana seller to IPO in the US, and excitement in the space drove a 75% gain. High-growth breast implant maker Establishment Labs turned heads with a 47% gain. Two small regional banks also completed offerings. Eight of the nine IPOs finished positive; the sole exception was Constellation Pharmaceuticals, which plummeted 23%.

9 IPOs During the Week of July 16th, 2018

Issuer
Business

Deal
Size

Market Cap
at IPO

Price vs.
Midpoint

First Day
Return

Return
at 07/20

Allakos (NASDAQ:ALLK)

$128M

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 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 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.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 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 Logan Wallace]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

  A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ARQL. Roth Capital upped their price target on ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 17th. Leerink Swann upgraded ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Zacks Investment Research lowered ArQule from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 4th. ValuEngine upgraded ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, B. Riley set a $4.00 price target on ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, The stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $4.69.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) actually have quite a bit in common. They co-market one of the world's best-selling drugs, Enbrel. They both face some headwinds with declining sales of older drugs. Each company has promising new drugs. And both stocks are up by nearly the same percentage over the last 12 months.

• [By Keith Speights]

  It's not too hard to find biotech stocks that are bargains right now. Two of the most attractively priced biotech stocks on the market are Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD). Both stocks also provide nice dividend yields for income-seeking investors.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Private Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1,703.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,362 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,231 shares during the period. Private Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Three biotech stocks that achieved this feat this week are�Nightstar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NITE),�Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS), and�Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB). What caused these stocks to soar, and are they smart picks to buy now? Here's what you need to know.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Shares of Ford Motor Co.�(NYSE: F) were flat despite dismal news out of China. This morning, the company reported a 38% slump in Chinese sales during the month of June. It was a terrible first six months for the iconic vehicle manufacturer. The company said that its Chinese operations saw a 25% slide in sales over the first half of the year. That was the largest six-month decline since launching its Chinese operations in 2001. Shares of Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) are off more than 1% after California regulators announced a new probe into the company. The probe was announced following a safety complaint filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency has not provided any details on the case. Shares of Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) popped more than 14% after the company announced positive results from a trial for an Alzheimer's drug. The phase 2 study examined BAN2401, an anti-amyloid beta protofibril antibody. It was tested on 856 patients with early stages of Alzheimer's disease. In a research note, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced that the results would be positive for Biogen's drug pipeline. Look for an earnings report Friday from InnerWorkings Inc. (Nasdaq: INWK). Wall Street projects that the company will report earnings per share of $0.09 on top of $284.9 million in revenue.

  Follow Money Morning��on��Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Here are some of the news stories that may have effected Accern’s analysis:

  Get Biogen alerts: Biogen (BIIB) Expected to Post Quarterly Sales of $3.24 Billion (americanbankingnews.com) Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB): Does The Earnings Decline Make It An Underperformer? (finance.yahoo.com) 5 Trade Ideas For Monday: AMTD, BIIB, DEO, FITB, TECK (investing.com) $5.29 EPS Expected for Biogen (BIIB) This Quarter (americanbankingnews.com) Biogen (BIIB) Upgraded by ValuEngine to “Hold” (americanbankingnews.com)

  Shares of Biogen traded up $5.45, reaching $281.51, during midday trading on Wednesday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. 1,514,169 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,729,786. Biogen has a 52-week low of $276.94 and a 52-week high of $281.57. The firm has a market cap of $59.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.95 and a current ratio of 3.23.

• [By Brian Feroldi]

  Data source: Alkermes. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles.

  What happened with Alkermes this quarter? Sales of Alkermes'�opioid- and alcohol-abuse prevention drug Vivitrol grew 7% to $62.7 million. Sales of the company's�schizophrenia drug�Aristada�rose 62% to $29.2 million. Manufacturing and royalty revenue related to�Johnson & Johnson's schizophrenia drugs jumped 15% to $68.8 million. Manufacturing and royalty revenue related to�Acorda Therapeutics' multiple sclerosis drug�fell�3% to $28.3 million. Research and development revenue earned as part of its collaboration with�Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) for BIIB098 -- which used to be called ALKS 8700 -- was $17.5 million.

  Looking beyond the financials, here's an overview of the key events from the period:

• [By Todd Campbell]

  Drugmakers' dustbins are filled with failed attempts to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, yet drug developers, including�Biogen�(NASDAQ:BIIB), remain undaunted in their pursuit of new treatments. Recently, Biogen reported data from a midstage trial that suggests it could be rewarded for its perseverance. In hundreds of patients, the company's BAN2401 successfully slowed disease progression as measured by the Alzheimer's Disease Composite Score (ADCOMS). Is this the breakthrough patients have been waiting for?