Five More Biotech Stocks for 2015 – Stocks to Watch – Barrons.com

By Ben Levisohn

RBC’s Michael Yee and team explain why Celgene (CELG), Biogen Idec (BIIB), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) are their top biotech stocks for 2015:

Bloomberg News

Top-five longs: Celgene, Biogen Idec, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals: 1) Celgene we predict “settlement” with Actavis (ACT) could happen after spring when expert discovery ends and before Court begins mid-15; plus investors should start giving more credit to partnered pipeline—now Agios’ drugs are becoming interesting, and Celgene owns half, 2) Biogen Idec as the most catalyst-rich stock for 2015 with the most upside vs. downside on three big events (LINGO, Alzheimer’s, Tysabri SPMS), 3) BioMarin Pharmaceutical for three to four pipeline readouts in 2015, especially Phase II achondroplasia data Q2, and new DMD drug, which has good chance of FDA approval by YE:15, 4) Vertex Pharmaceuticals into early 2015 Phase II VX-661 three-month homozygous data, which may look better than first-gen ’809 combo. Own into ’809 strong pricing and strong US launch/demand for mid-2015, and 5) Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for robust Eylea growth and expansion plus three new potential blockbuster drugs in 2015-17.

Shares of Celgene have dropped $113.63 at 10:56 a.m., while Biogen Idec has fallen 3.3% to $348.84, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has declined 3.5% to $412.68, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has slipped 0.6% to $118.14 and BioMarin Pharmaceutical is off 1.6% at $92.37.

Read the article:

Five More Biotech Stocks for 2015 – Stocks to Watch – Barrons.com