The biotechnology sector is the reason why treatments and diagnostics for all mankind have experienced exponential advances. If you are passionate about value investing, you must understand that one of the best strategies as an investor is to be able to pick up undervalued companies from booming sectors that will allow you to make substantial gains in the near future. You may be wondering what options within the biotechnology sector take advantage of the boom, while remaining bargain biotech stocks?
Well, just like artificial intelligence, I do not consider biotechnology to be the future, but rather the present. And, it is here to stay. Lets take a look at three bargain biotech stocks worth keeping an eye on.
Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA)
Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA) is an amazing company that is working on medical treatments using a technology called CRISPR. During the first quarter of 2023, NTLA spent $97.1 million on research and development. This was less than the first quarter of 2022 when they spent $133.1 million. But, $56 million of that amount was due to the acquisition of another company. Meaning overall, they are spending more on research this year than they did last year.
Even though they are investing in their growth, Intellia managed to reduce their losses to $103.1 million in Q1 2023, which is a good sign that they are controlling their costs better. In addition, they have exciting news about a CRISPR based treatment for hereditary angioedema, which yielded positive results and was presented at a major medical conference in June 2023.
Exelixis (EXEL)
Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) is a company that focuses on treating cancer with their lead product, cabozantinib. They are doing quite well and reported total revenues of $408.8 million in the first quarter of 2023, which is more than they earned during the same period in 2022. Their main source of revenue growth came from higher sales and pricing of their products.
Their research and development expenses increased because they invested more in licensing, collaborations, hiring more people and manufacturing. Despite these expenses, Exelixis still managed to earn GAAP net income of $40 million in the first quarter of 2023. This is slightly less than what they earned in the same period last year, but they are still in a strong financial position.
Exelixis shares non-GAAP financial measures, excluding certain expenses, to help investors better understand their performance. They are truly focused on developing and selling cancer therapies, and are committed to continue to advance their pipeline and remain a major player in the biotech industry.
Axsome Therapeutics (AXSM)
Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM) is a company dedicated to developing new treatments for central nervous system problems. In the first quarter of 2023, they had total revenues of $94.6 million.
During that time, they sold $15.7 million of the product called Auvelity and $12.9 million of Sunosi. They also received an extra $300 thousand in royalties from Sunosi sales. But, there was a $3.3 million decrease in sales due to changes in the distribution of the product in the United States.
Although they reported a net loss of $11.2 million in the first quarter of 2023, they are in a good financial position. They have $246.5 million in cash on hand through March 31, 2023. They also secured access to more cash through a loan, which is great for their future plans.
As of this writing, Gabriel Osorio-Mazzilli did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.