Image Source: Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences (GILD -1.64%) has been a dream stock for its long term investors. Shareholders would bought at the turn of the millennium have been treated to a monster run, as the stock has gained more than 4,930% during that time period, turning the company into the $130 billion biotech behemoth that it is today.
Unfortunately, investors who get into Gilead's stock today are extremely unlikely to see its shares go on another huge run, as the firms sheer size make it increasingly hard for the company to double in size. That doesn't mean that Gilead stock can produce solid returns from here, but it does mean that investors who are looking for a stock that can deliver enormous share price gains over the coming year need to focus their attention elsewhere.
Investors who are looking to swing for the fences should be hunting for smaller companies that are poised could go on huge runs of their own if everything goes according to plan. I've highlighted 3 companies below that look promising as each of their stocks more than doubled in value during 2015, so investors who are looking for turbo charged returns might want to giving these companies a closer look.
#1 - Intra-Cellular Therapies (ITCI -0.80%)
2015 was a stellar year for investors in Intra-Cellular Therapies as this biopharma shares gained a whopping 206% during the year. Investors sent shares up 83% in a single day after it released data on a late stage clinical trial for its lead product candidate, ITI-007, which is being studied as a treatment for schizophrenia. The trial showed that patients who used ITI-007 showed a statistically significant improvement on their Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score, or PANSS score, versus those who only took a placebo. Importantly, ITI-007 also demonstrated placebo like safety as well.
It's understandable why investors are so bullish on ITI-007 right now as if the compound can be shown to an be effective treatment for schizophrenia then there is reason to believe that it could work on other disease of the central nervous system as well. Intra-Cellular Therapies is currently running trials using ITI-007 in other disease states like depression, bipolar disorder, and dementia. If everything pans out perfectly that ITI-007 holds enormous potential, as some analysts see peak sales of the drug being as high as $6 billion worldwide.
Investors will get another round of data on ITI-007 later this year, as the company is set to report results from a second phase 3 trial of schizophrenia sometime in the middle of the year. If that data also looks good it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see investors take its shares to new heights.
#2 - Prothena Corporation (PRTA 0.07%)
Another company that successfully charmed the market in 2015 was Prothena Corporation. This Irish biotechnology company saw its shares skyrocket 234% higher during 2015 as investors grew excited about the prospects for its early state clinical pipeline.
Shares got off to a good start when Protean reported positive results from a phase 1 study of PRX-002, a compound that they are studying alongside Roche as a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease. PRX-002 looks like an especially promising compound as in phase 1 clinical trials it was shown to reduced alpha synuclein levels -- a protein in the brain that regulates dopamine and is associated with Parkinson's disease -- by up to 96%. This clinical outcome suggests that PRX-002 could actually treat the root cause of Parkinson's disease, which, if true, would be a breakthrough. Importantly, PRX-002 appears to be safe to use as no significant adverse events were reported during in the study.
While these results are extremely promising, its important to remember that this data is only from a phase 1 study, so there is still plenty that can go wrong. Still, its also nice to know that the company has a well financed partner in Roche by its side. If PRX-002 continues to show promising data as it moves its way down the regulatory pathway then investors would get in today could be in a position to reap huge rewards.
#3 - Exelixis (EXEL 0.85%)
Once left for dead, cancer focused Exelixis came roaring back to life in 2015, as shares gained 241% during the year. The huge jump was mainly owed to two positive developments annouced during the year.
First, the company's advanced renal cell carcinoma drug candidate Cometriq released impressive results from its METEOR study. Cometriq demonstated a 42% reduction in the rate of disease progression or death when compared to Afinitor, itself a widely used cancer treatment. Those results suggest that if the Cometriq can win regulatory approval -- and its has already been submitted in both the US and EU -- then it stands a good chance to generating revenue in an otherwise crowded field.
The second big new item came in November when the FDA approved Cotellic use in combination with Zelboraf in treating patients with advanced melanoma. Studies showed that Cotellic's use alongside Zelboraf improved patients progression free surveil by 5.1 month versus those who only took Zelboraf alone. Cotellic was initially discovered by Exelixis who then handed it off to Roche's Genentech unit for additional development. Cotellic is also being investigated in combination with several investigational medicines, including an immunotherapy, in several tumor types such as non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer.
If Cotellic proves to be a market success -- and I think it will given its clinical results -- then Exelixis is poised to gain financially as its agreement calls for it to receive a sizable portion of sales in the early going of the Cotellic-Zelboraf combo launch. However, over time Exelixis' portion of the shared revenue will fall.
With the upcoming catalysts of Cometriq' approval mixed with the likelihood of a strong cash infusion from Cotellic sales, investors in Exelixis have a lot to look forward to in 2016. Even after its strong run it could be an winner from here, so more daring invests might want to put this company on their radar.
