The levying of tariffs by the Trump administration on goods sold from abroad in the US has roiled the markets and left investors looking for safe havens. One sector they may take shelter in is biotech stocks because they are not as affected by tariffs as other industries, and after a sluggish 2024, biotechs may be undervalued.
I still like biotech stocks because they have huge growth potential, with personalized medicine, government support and rising regulatory applications for orphan drugs (medicines to treat rare diseases.)
The key in the current environment is finding biotech stocks that are already profitable and are growing earnings. This guide covers the 9 best biotech stocks I found that may fit the bill.
Our picks of the top 9 biotechnology stocks, at a glance
We’re ranking 9 biotech stocks that have catalysts to help propel their continued success:
- Halozyme Therapeutics: The US-based biopharmaceutical company focuses on using novel recombinant human enzymes to enhance drug delivery to treat diabetes, cancer, and skin diseases.
- Krystal Biotech: The biotech company, based in the US, makes genetic medicines to treat diseases with high unmet medical needs. One of its novel topical gel treatments has blockbuster potential.
- Catalyst Pharmaceuticals: The US biotech company is involved with in-licensing, commercializing, and developing innovative therapies to treat rare diseases and diseases of the central nervous system.
- Exelixis: The US biotech focuses on treating various cancers with small molecules, antibody-drug conjugates and other biotherapeutics. Its Cabometyx cancer drug is seeing a growing number of indications.
- Alkermes: The Ireland-based biotech focuses on neuroscience therapies, including the treatment of alcohol dependence, opioid dependence, schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder, and other neurological disorders.
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals: The Irish biopharmaceutical company has a growing portfolio of therapies to treat cancer, as well as sleep disorders and epilepsy. It bought rival Chimerix to add to its cancer drug lineup.
- Amgen: The US-based biotech pioneer has a huge portfolio of therapies to treat cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, inflammatory diseases and rare diseases. More than half of its pipeline is in late stage trials.
- Gilead Sciences: The US biopharma company focuses on certain antiviral therapies to treat HIV and hepatitis but is seeing increased sales of its oncology portfolio. It’s stepping up acquisitions of rivals.
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals: The diseases the US biotech focuses on include allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, hematologic conditions and rare diseases.
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A detailed look at these top-ranked biotech companies
These 9 stocks on our list are worth looking at because of their strong growth potential, revenue growth and profitability. Some of them are large caps with huge pipelines and portfolios while others are smaller companies that are seeing breakthrough growth because of new therapies
1. Halozyme Therapeutics: Focusing on drug delivery technology
Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) has developed Enhanze technology, a method of drug delivery that is done with an injection under the skin. The biotech firm licenses its Enhanze drug delivery platform to other biopharmaceutical companies to enable intravenous to subcutaneous administration conversion and dose optimization.
The method is used by two of the top oncology therapies in the world, Herceptin, a breast cancer and stomach cancer therapy produced by Roche, and Darzalex Faspro, made by Johnson & Johnson to treat multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
The company’s shares are up 12% this year. It’s in line for more royalty revenue as Bristol Myers Squibb just got approval in Europe for solid tumor therapy Opdivo to be used with Halozyme’s Enhance system. In addition, its manufacturing is at two plants in the US, so it isn’t as affected by recent tariffs as some other biotech companies.
Halozyme posted strong fourth-quarter and year-end results with record revenue and EPS. Fourth quarter revenue was up 30% year over year to $298 million, with royalty revenue of $170 million, rising 40%. Fourth quarter earnings per share (EPS) jumped 63% year over year to $1.06.
Full-year revenue was $1.02 billion, up 22%, and EPS rose 63% to $3.43. For this year, it’s forecasting full-year revenue of between $1.15 billion to $1.225 billion, representing 16.5% growth at the midpoint. Non-GAAP EPS is expected to be between $4.95 to $5.34, growth of 17% to 26% over 2024.
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2. Krystal Biotech: Novel topical deliveries give company revenue to grow
Krystal Biotech (NASDAQ:KRYS) achieved a breakthrough in 2023 when it got approval from the FDA for the first topical gene therapy, Vyjuvek, to treat dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), a rare genetic disease where the skin splits and blisters easily.
The topical gel also got a positive opinion in Europe as well, and the therapy is seen to have blockbuster potential. It works by supplying the normal COL7 protein that is missing in patient’s skin cells who have DEB.
Krystal, buoyed by strong financial and a budding pipeline, has seen its shares rise more than 13% in the past month. Its pipeline has six therapies, led by KB105 to treat patients with autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI), a painful skin disease that causes scaling and patchy skin. KB105 is in Phase II trials.
Other promising pipeline candidates include KB803 for ocular complications of DEB and KB407 to treat cystic fibrosis.
In the fourth quarter, Krystal posted revenue of $91.1 million, up 116% year over year. For the full year, revenue climbed 473% to $290.5 million. EPS for the quarter was $1.52 compared to $0.30 in the same period a year earlier.
Full-year EPS grew 650% to $3.00. Those are huge gains and Krystal is just beginning to ramp up its sales of Vyjuvek, which should give it plenty of cash to develop the rest of its pipeline.
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3. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals: Trio of therapies drive revenue surge
Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) produces three therapies to treat rare and central nervous system diseases: anti-seizure therapy Fycompa, Firdapse, which treats Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), a neuromuscular condition that often affects small cell lung cancer patients. Agamree, treats Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Agamree, which didn’t launch until March of 2024, is expected to bring in between $100 million and $110 million this year in sales, up 128% at the midpoint, reflecting continued market adoption and commercial momentum.
Catalyst’s shares are up about 3% so far this year. In the fourth quarter, Catalyst had revenue of $141.8 million, rising 28.3% year over year, and EPS of $0.44, up 41.9% from the same year-earlier period.
Full year revenue rose 23.4% to $489.3 million, and EPS more than doubled to $1.31. Catalyst estimated that 2025 revenue will be between $545 million and $565 million, which would be a 13.4% increase at the midpoint.
The biotech is expected to continue to add indications for all three of its approved medicines. Firdapse recently got approval from the FDA to increase its maximum daily dosage to treat patients with LEMS.
In addition, the company settled its patent fight in January with Teva, meaning the competitor won’t launch a generic version of Firdapse until 2035.
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4. ExelIxis: Cabometyx has become a pipeline by itself
The oncology-focused biotech, Cabometyx (NASDAQ:EXEL) has a blockbuster in the making, and a number of late-stage pipeline candidates that could add to its revenue. The stock is up more than 8% this year.
Exelixis’ lead drug is Cabometyx, the leading therapy to treat kidney cancer and a therapy that has also been approved to treat thyroid and liver cancer. Cabometyx is seeing a growing number of indications, including one recently to treat advanced neuroendocrine tumors.
The biotechnology firm also successfully fought off a potential generic rival to the drug when it prevailed in a suit with MSN Pharmaceuticals. Exelexis’ other leading seller is Cometriq to treat thyroid cancer.
Last year, Exelixis grew revenue by 11% to $1.8 billion and saw EPS rise by 111% to $1.76. In the fourth quarter, revenue was $566.8 million, up 18.2% year over year. EPS was $0.38, up 77% from the same period a year earlier.
This year, Cabometyx said it expects revenue of between $2.15 billion and $2.25 billion, showing a rise of 22% at the midpoint. Exelexis has 11 therapies trials, including four in Phase 3 trials.
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5. Alkermes: Keeping competitors up at night
Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) in recent years has changed up its business to focus on psychiatric and neurological disorders. So far this year, its shares are up about 3%.
In addition, the company retired more than $290 million in debt to finish the year debt-free, with roughly $825 million of cash and investments.
Alkermes’ top-selling therapy, anti-opioid and alcohol dependence drug Vivitrol, brought in $134.1 million in the fourth quarter, up 31% year over year. Aristada, used to treat schizophrenia, brought in $96.6 in revenue in the fourth quarter, rising 16% from the same period a year earlier.
Lybalvi, used to treat manic episodes associated with bipolar 1 disorder and schizophrenia, saw its sales rise 36% year over year to $77 million.
In addition, Alkermes’ lead pipeline candidate, narcolepsy drug ALKS 2680, is in several late-stage trials, including a phase 2 trial for idiopathic hypersomnia.
In the fourth quarter, revenue rose 13.9% from a year earlier to $439 million, and EPS gained 33% to $0.88. Full-year revenue fell slightly to $1.55 billion, but that was due to back royalties paid in 2023 from Janssen Pharmaceutical.
Full-year net income rose 3% to $367.1 million. Considering its growth profile, the stock appears underpriced as it’s trading for less than 15 times earnings.
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6. Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Branching out, improving profitability
Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ), known for its sleep disorders and epilepsy therapies, has been bulking up its oncology offerings.
It recently purchased Chimerix for $935 million to bring in a potential first-in-class drug to treat a rare form of brain cancer. The drug, dordaviprone, has shown promise to treat H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma, a high-grade glioma that affects children and young adults.
An FDA decision for the therapy is expected in August. The drug would push Jazz’s oncology portfolio to six therapies.
Jazz’s stock is down more than 13% this year and it is trading for less than 14 times earnings. That’s despite the biotech company’s posting record revenue numbers in the fourth quarter and the year.
It posted $1.1 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, up 7.5% year over year, and full-year revenue of $4.1 billion, up 6%. EPS for the quarter was $6.60, up 31.4% from a year earlier, and full-year EPS rose 14.3% to $20.90.
The company’s jump into oncology appears to be paying off. While its neuroscience therapies, led by Xywav, produced most of the company’s revenue at $2.7 billion, that number was down a tad from 2023. Meanwhile, its cancer therapies produced $1.1 billion in revenue, up 9% from a year earlier.
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7. Amgen: Biotech pioneer points to record revenue, EPS in 2025
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), founded in 1980, is a dominant player in the biotech sector. Its shares are up more than 7% so far this year.
It has a huge portfolio with 13 therapies with more than a billion in sales in 2024, and a large pipeline of 37 drugs with more than half of them in late-stage trials. The company set a record with $33.4 billion in sales in 2024, up 19% over 2023.
Amgen’s top seller is osteoporosis drug Prolia, with nearly $4.4 billion in sales, up 5% over the prior year. The fastest-rising drug, though, is cholesterol drug Repatha, which brought in $2.2 billion, up 36%. The company has also been spending big on developing weight-loss therapy MariTide, which has recently begun two Phase 3 trials.
One other highlight is that on April 4, the FDA granted approval for the company’s latest drug, Uplizna, the only treatment for adults with Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD). IgG4-RD, a chronic inflammatory condition that can affect multiple organs.
In the fourth quarter, revenue rose 11% year over year to $9.1 billion. The company’s $27.8 billion purchase of Horizon Therapeutics in 2023 and investment losses are taking a toll on profitability, though.
Quarterly EPS dropped 18% year over year to $1.16, and full-year EPS fell 39% to $7.56, due to higher expenses, many of which had to do with its Horizon acquisition. The hope is the drugs from Horizon, most notably, Thyroid eye disease therapy Tepezza and gout drug Krystexxa, will continue to drive sales.
The company expects revenue this year to be between $34.3 billion to $35.7 billion, up 4.8% at the midpoint. It also forecasts rising EPS. The company estimates 2025 EPS at between $10.89 and $12.14, up 52% at the midpoint.
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8. Gilead: Gearing up through acquisitions
Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD), founded in 1987, has branched out from its bread-and-butter of HIV and hepatitis therapies to develop more oncology drugs. Its shares are up more than 21% so far this year.
The company has also grown through major acquisitions, including a $4.3 billion purchase of CymaBay, known for liver therapy Livdelzi, in 2024, and its 2023 purchase of oncology company XinThera.
In the fourth quarter, Gilead reported revenue of $7.6 billion, up 6% year over year, primarily due to better HIV, liver disease and oncology therapy sales, but partially offset by lower sales of COVID-19 therapy Veklury. EPS was $1.42, up 24.5% over the same period a year earlier.
For the full year, sales grew 6% to $28.8 billion, but EPS, brought down by impairment charges related to its CymaBay and 2020 purchase of Immunomedics, fell to $0.38 from $4.50 in 2024. Gilead’s guidance for 2025 points to full-year revenue of between $28.2 billion and $28.6 billion, down only slightly, but it expects EPS to rise to between $5.95 and $6.35.
Most of Gilead’s sales continue to come from its antiviral therapies for HIV and hepatitis. It has 54 ongoing clinical-stage programs, including a number of marketed products for which it is investigating additional indications.
The pipeline includes 18 therapies in Phase II and 16 in Phase III, so the likelihood of more blockbusters is high. Its HIV portfolio, led last year by Biktarvy with $13.4 billion in sales last year, had four drugs with more than $1 billion each in 2024 revenue.
Its oncology therapies, led by blood cancer drug Yescarta, with $1.57 billion in 2024 sales, had three therapies with $1 billion or more in sales in 2024.
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Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) has 12 FDA-approved therapies, led by Dupixent, a biologic medicine used to treat uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema, asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, eosinophilic esophagitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The company shares its Dupixent sales with Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY) and the drug overall brought in $14.15 billion in 2024, up 22% over 2023. Regeneron also has a large pipeline, with roughly 40 therapies in trials.
In the fourth quarter, Regeneron said that revenue climbed 10% year over year to $3.79 billion, and full-year revenue was $14.2 billion, up 8%. EPS for the quarter was $8.06, down from $10.19 in the same period a year earlier, but full-year EPS rose 10.2% to $38.34.
Used to treat several eye diseases related to too much blood vessel growth in the retina, Eylea is seeing increased competition from biosimilars, but it continues to grow sales. The two versions of the drug, Eylea and Eylea HD (a high-dose formulation of the drug), combine for a 46% market share, Regeneron said.
Eylea had $1.5 billion in fourth-quarter sales, up 2% year over year, and full-year sales of $5.97 billion, up 1%. The company is seeing its biggest growth from skin cancer therapy Libtayo, which saw sales grow 50% year over year to $367 million, and full-year sales rise 40% to $1.22 billion.
Despite continued revenue growth, Regeneron’s shares are down more than 26% so far this year, presenting a potential buying opportunity for investors. Its stock is trading for less than 16 times earnings, and at roughly $522 a share, there’s a chance of a stock split, which would help the stock price rise.
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Why invest in biotech stocks?
Biotechnology stocks, the darlings of the COVID-19 pandemic, saw their share prices decline in the past two years as investors favored big tech and companies in the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.
The biotech sector did take a further hit recently at the start of the year when FDA regulator Dr. Peter Marks resigned from the agency, writing a parting letter that incoming Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was anti-science.
However, that may have pushed biotech stock prices to a territory of buying opportunity. There is a lot of potential for the sector to do well in the future with aging populations and rare diseases with unmet therapeutic needs.
A report by Grand View Research places the global biotechnology market at $1.55 trillion in 2023, and the compound annual growth rate at 13.96% from 2024 to 2030.
What is a biotech company?
The phrase is often misused to mean any healthcare company using new technology, such as AI or robotic surgery. However, a true biotech company focuses on using living organisms and their byproducts to develop therapies and processes, usually for healthcare and medical purposes.
Biotech companies vary. Some work to develop drugs and therapies, especially ones to treat cancer, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. Biotech companies also include those that create diagnostic tools, biofuels, and agricultural products.
There are also biotech companies that also provide research and development services, including clinical research organizations and companies that make life sciences equipment that is used by biotech companies.
Some examples of biotechnology
Techniques including stem cell technology, DNA fingerprinting, and genetic engineering are some of the faster-growing biotechnologies among the past few years. The demand for biologic medicines and stem cell therapies is being driven by the possibilities of personalized medicine.
How are biotech stocks different from other healthcare stocks?
Biotechnology is an emerging field with high potential rewards. Biotech companies can develop breakthrough drugs or technologies that can lead to huge profits.
However, many biotech companies are still in the early stages and are not yet profitable and some may never turn a profit.
That makes them riskier than other healthcare companies. The development of new biotech drugs can take longer than that of other therapies. For this reason, biotech stocks can be volatile, so they are unsuitable for risk-averse investors.
Some of the best ways to find the best biotech stocks
Follow industry news
Keep updated on new technologies, drug approvals, clinical trial results, and market trends. Industry publications and conferences can be useful resources, as well as the EMA and FDA websites.
Follow analyst reports
Consider insights from established firms, though individual analysts vary greatly on their opinions. The key is seeing if there appears to be consensus about a particular biotech stock.
Look at varied sources
There’s no straight line to success in biotech investing. For every Halozyme Therapeutics, Regeneron or Amgen, there are hundreds of biotech companies that struggle. Unless you have inside knowledge, sometimes it’s hard to tell how a company is doing other than its financial reports.
For clinical-stage biotechs, financial reports aren’t always that useful. However, using various metrics, such as social media follows, AI scores and by comparing biotech companies against competitors, you can get a more complete picture.
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Where to get biotech stock tips
Industry news, analysts, financial reports and various websites are good ways to find tips on the best biotech stocks. It’s important to do your own research on companies before jumping in with any investment.
Alternative data isn’t always easy to come by, but can help investors gain an edge beyond the basic metrics that are available to everyday investors. It’s important to think outside-the-box if you are hoping to outguess the market involving biotech companies.
To find the best biotech stocks, you may also want to use stock screeners and other stock analysis services. We have compiled handy guides on stock screeners, stock tips services and stock pickers using AI. However, always do due diligence to cross check any recommendations against your investment priorities and style.
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FAQs
What is the best biotech stock to invest in?
What’s the best way to choose a biotech stock?
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What are Bill Gates’ largest biotech stock holdings?
References
Grand View Research report on biotech sector growth
Halozyme fourth-quarter report
Krystal Biotech gets FDA approval for Vyjuvek
Krystal Biotech fourth-quarter report
Catalyst Pharmaceuticals fourth-quarter report
Exelixis fourth-quarter report
Alkermes fourth-quarter report
Jazz Pharmaceuticals buys Chimerix
Jazz Pharmaceuticals fourth-quarter report
Gilead Sciences fourth-quarter report
Regeneron fourth-quarter report
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