Investors looking for stocks that can make dramatic gains can find some in the biopharmaceutical industry. Right now, there are a pair of biopharma stocks that Wall Street expects to rocket higher in 2025.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved CRISPR Therapeutics’ (NASDAQ: CRSP) first treatment last December, and its successful launch could push the stock much higher. Investment bank analysts also expect Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: IOVA) to soar in 2025.
Before chasing exciting price targets, though, it’s important to remember that analysts who set lofty expectations can quietly adjust them downward if things don’t work out. Repairing the damage a poorly performing investment can inflict on your portfolio isn’t as easy. That said, let’s look at some reasons these stocks are expected to soar, and consider if they could be right for your portfolio.
CRISPR Therapeutics stock has fallen by about 51% from the peak it reached in February. Wall Street analysts who follow the gene therapy developer expect it to rebound. The average price target on the stock implies an 82% gain over the next 12 months.
CRISPR Therapeutics stock slipped in November following its third-quarter report. Casgevy, a once-and-done treatment for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, earned FDA approval last December, but CRISPR and its collaboration partner, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, still aren’t realizing significant revenue from it.
Casgevy is neither a pill nor an injection: It’s an infusion of genetically modified stem cells derived from the patient who will receive them. CRISPR and Vertex aren’t recording sales for Casgevy yet, but approximately 40 patients had begun the cell collection process as of mid-October. At a list price of about $2.2 million per patient, it won’t take many treatments to produce a significant revenue stream.
CRISPR Therapeutics finished September with $1.9 billion in cash and equivalents on its books after burning through $320 million during the first nine months of 2024. If Casgevy sales start rolling in, that cash cushion could last for several years.
The next therapy likely to emerge from CRISPR’s pipeline could be much easier to sell. Candidate CTX112 is an off-the-shelf therapy for cellular lymphoma that recently produced some compelling data in a phase 1/2 trial. Among 12 patients treated with four ascending dosages, six achieved complete remission, and the treatment shrank the tumors of another two. Half of the patients’ cancers still hadn’t worsened six months after their initial response.
