Investing in biotech stocks usually isn't for the faint of heart. These stocks tend to be highly volatile because of the inherent risks of developing new drugs.
However, some biotech stocks offer attractive opportunities for investors that are hard to ignore. And you won't need a boatload of cash to invest in a few of them. Here are three no-brainer biotech stocks to buy with $200 right now.
1. BioNTech
Biotech stocks usually appeal more to aggressive growth investors, while value investors typically prefer to look elsewhere. I think value investors should like at least one biotech stock: BioNTech (BNTX 1.01%).
You can scoop up a share of BioNTech for less than $120 at the time of this writing. This German biotech innovator will give you a lot of bang for your buck.
BioNTech already has a product on the market -- the COVID-19 vaccine it co-developed with Pfizer. Although the vaccine's sales have plunged from the levels generated at the height of the pandemic, BioNTech still expects to rake in around $2.6 billion in sales this year.
Why is this stock a no-brainer buy? Thanks to the previous success of its COVID-19 vaccine, BioNTech's cash stockpile is so big the company's enterprise value (EV) is only around $10 billion. That gives BioNTech an EV-to-sales ratio of roughly 3.8.
This is a cheap valuation, even if BioNTech didn't have a loaded pipeline -- but it does. The company has more than 30 clinical trials underway.
BioNTech hopes to launch its first cancer immunotherapy in 2026 with 10 approved cancer indications by 2030. Even if most of its pipeline candidates flop, BioNTech offers a compelling valuation right now.
2. Moderna
Most of what I just said about BioNTech applies to Moderna (MRNA -0.52%), too. This biotech stock looks like a bargain -- and not because its share price hovers around $42.
Like BioNTech, Moderna achieved tremendous success with its COVID-19 vaccine. Also like BioNTech, Moderna was able to build a huge cash position ($9.2 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024) as a result of its vaccine's success.
The company's EV is roughly $10.6 billion and Moderna projects full-year 2024 sales of at least $3 billion. This gives the messenger RNA (mRNA) pioneer an EV-to-sales multiple of 3.5 -- even lower than BioNTech's.
Unlike BioNTech, though, Moderna already has a second product on the market. The company won U.S. and Canadian approvals for its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine mResvia earlier this year. This RSV vaccine seems highly likely to become another blockbuster product for the company.
Investors aren't giving Moderna much credit for its promising pipeline, either. The biotech company has nine late-stage programs, including a combination flu/COVID-19 vaccine, a cytomegalovirus vaccine, and a personalized cancer vaccine it's developing with Merck.
3. Summit Therapeutics
If you bought one share each of BioNTech and Moderna, you'd still have around $40 remaining from your initial $200. That's enough to pick up two shares of Summit Therapeutics (SMMT -6.33%).
Summit doesn't have a product on the market yet. However, you might not have to wait too long for that status to change.
The company is evaluating ivonescimab in late-stage clinical studies targeting advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Initial results from a study that features the experimental immunotherapy as a second-line treatment for NSCLC are expected in mid-2025.
Investors rightfully have high expectations for ivonescimab. Summit's partner, Akeso, has already won approval for the drug in China as a second-line treatment for NSCLC in combination with chemotherapy. Akeso also announced results in May 2024 from a phase 3 study that found ivonescimab was more effective than Merck's best-selling immunotherapy Keytruda in treating NSCLC.
Summit might seem overpriced at first glance with its market cap of $13.8 billion and no product sales. However, if ivonescimab wins U.S. regulatory approval (which I think is likely), this stock will be a monster winner.
