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With new drug launches and product approvals on the horizon, some biotechnology stocks could finally be due for a breakout, market participants say. Biotech investors could use a break. The iShares Biotechnology ETF is up more than 1% this year, far below the 7% gain made in the S & P 500. The biotech ETF fell about 14% in 2022, outperforming the broader market index’s 19% decline, and was little changed in 2021 vs the S & P 27% rally, as investors raced to companies benefiting from the post-Covid economic reopening. Still, the outlook for biotech stocks could improve now , with innovation in new drugs and more merger and acquisition activity driving investor interest. Recently, Wall Street has been zoning in on developments in treatments for Alzheimer’s diseases, drugs for weight loss and treatments using gene editing. CNBC Pro screened for biotech stocks that are part of the iShares Biotechnology ETF , searching for names with huge upside from current prices. These stocks are beloved by analysts, with buy ratings from at least 75% of analysts covering the company, according to FactSet data, have a market cap of $2 billion or more and are covered by at least 10 analysts. Most important, they’re expected to jump 35% to their average price target. Here are the names. Karuna Therapeutics shares are forecast to gain more than 46%, according to consensus estimates on FactSet. In January, Piper Sandler initiated research coverage of Karuna with an overweight rating, saying it’s “blazing a new trail in Schizophrenia” treatments. “We believe that KRTX’s KarXT is poised to emerge as [a] valued and versatile (i.e., monotherapy and adjunctive usage) option in a schizophrenia space that has been starved for mechanistically unique options, and further believe that peak U.S. sales approaching $3B+ are realistic,” Piper Sandler analyst David Amsellem wrote. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals turned up on the screen. Shares are down more than 17% this year, as of midday trading Thursday, but are forecast to roughly double, according to consensus expectations on FactSet. In December, Piper Sandler analyst Edward Tenthoff named Arrowhead among his top 2023 picks, saying it will report data on several treatments, including one for early stage and progressive heart disease, in the first half of this year. Legend Biotech made the list, with forecast upside of about 49%, based on analysts’ average 12-month price target. The stock was named another top 2023 pick by Piper Sandler, which said Legend has a “best-in-class” treatment for adults with relapsed multiple myeloma, a segment “with demand far outpacing supply.” “We now forecast CARVYKTI sales of $129 million this year growing to $344 million in 2023,” Tenthoff wrote in the December note. Other stocks on the list included Intra-Cellular Therapies , Cytokinetics and Prometheus Biosciences .
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