Zacks Investment Ideas Feature Highlights: Sangamo, Bluebird, Editas, Sarepta And Juno

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – March 9, 2018 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Features: Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SGMO) , bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) , Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) , Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) and Juno Therapeutics JUNO.

Healthcare Heroes that Aren’t Done Yet

I've been investing and trading in healthcare stocks successfully for a decade. During the depths of the financial crisis in the first week of March 2009, I went on national TV for the first time and was asked to pick some stocks.

And I was nervous about potentially giving bad advice to millions of people.

I didn't know the market would bottom that week, so I asked myself...

"What are 2 sure things I would tell retail investors they could buy right now that would put their money to work at incredible levels, let them sleep at night during the volatility, and make them very happy 5 years from now?"

The Technology play was probably obvious to anyone who had just bought a smartphone or new car full of semiconductors. But the Biotech one might still seem risky to some.

How could I be so confident it was a "sure thing?" Because I started identifying the key "megatrends" that made the frontiers of the life sciences and medical R&D so promising for decades to come.

You can read my latest description of those growth drivers in this report...

4 Healthcare Megatrends for Investors

In 2013, I ran a trading portfolio at Zacks that racked up a 66% return primarily on the back of Biotech stocks in that strong bull run they had. 2014 and 2015 proved much more difficult with big corrections and then a peak.

But my "megatrends" proved profoundly resilient. And they inspired us to start a new long-term portfolio at Zacks focused directly on them.

We called it Healthcare Innovators and launched in April of 2017.

Since then, some of the gains have been fantastic...

Sangamo Therapeutics+155.61% (closed trade)
bluebird bio +138.17% (still holding after JUNO buyout)
Editas Medicine +115.33% (still holding on gene editing innovation)
Sarepta Therapeutics +106.84% (still holding as leading company in Duchenne muscular dystrophy)
Juno Therapeutics +98.06% (sold after Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) acquisition)

Note: BLUE, EDIT, and SRPT are still open trades showing these gains as of Thursday morning on 3/8/2018.

That JUNO closed trade was following the buyout by Celgene in January. And we had already executed and closed a big swing trade in JUNO for 70% gains in 2017.

And for a wonderful and profitable "fat tail" event, the same day JUNO was acquired, our Bioverativ was purchased by the French pharma giant Sanofi (PA:SASY) for a big premium which handed us a 75% winner.

A Robust Research Process

To be clear, not every investment is a winner. We take a lot of shots -- about 25 open positions on average in any given month -- and one big loser was NewLink Genetics which cost us 53%. This is proof I'm not infallible and that Biotech investing remains very risky, with large and binary asymmetric payoffs due to the gauntlet of human clinical trials and FDA rulings.

But I employ a clear and definable research process that has 5 key steps and it allows me to find at least 3 winners for every wipe-out in the treacherous Biotech landscape.

We took a chance on gene editing company Editas at $25 and watching the trends in BioPharma M&A, I decided we could do the same with peer Intellia Therapeutics.

Notably, Intellia saw a price target boost yesterday by Barclays (LON:BARC) from $33 to $46 and today coverage was initiated by JMP Securities with a $76 price target, projecting over 150% upside!

Plus, it helped my conviction in these CRISPR gene editing companies that I read as much as I could about the science and its founders, Dr. Jennifer Doudna and Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier.

Beyond Biotech

But my Healthcare Innovators portfolio is not solely focused on Biotech. We have enjoyed sizable gains with large pharma companies like AbbVie, surgical device companies like Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW), and HMO's like Centene, all of which I believe have more room to run.

And one of my proudest runners making our members smile is Align Technology, maker of the Invisalign "teeth straighteners," a great alternative to traditional braces. The company is posting consistent 30% growth quarter after quarter as both American teens and their dentists realize the beautiful fit of their digitally-mastered dental solutions.

Plus, the international growth opportunity is what has kept us in the stock for the long-term since $133, even during big pullbacks from all-time highs above $260.

I hope I have convinced you that the Healthcare Megatrends are in full force and will be for many more years.

Besides making profitable investments, there is also one other fantastic benefit I didn't describe: studying the lifesciences companies is a never-ending journey of discovery that can expand your knowledge of human physiology, wellness, disease, nutrition and the future of medicine.

Once you're hooked on so much to learn and wonder about, you'll never be bored again in your life!

Disclosure: I own shares of BLUE, EDIT, SRPT, NTLA, and ALGN for the Zacks Healthcare Innovators portfolio.

Don’t Even Think About Buying Bitcoin Until You Read This

The most popular cryptocurrency skyrocketed last year, giving some investors the chance to bank 20X returns or even more. Those gains, however, came with serious volatility and risk. Bitcoin sank 25% or more 3 times in 2017.

Zacks’ has just released a new Special Report to help readers capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.

See 4 crypto-related stocks now >>

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ZacksResearch

Join us on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB): http://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

http://www.zacks.com

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.