U.S. biotech stocks have been on the up recently. The S & P Biotechnology Select Industry Index is up more than 6% in the past week. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index , meanwhile, is up almost 4% over the same period and 8.5% over the past month. “Biotech looks to be strengthening materially in recent days, and is a key part of the reason why Healthcare likely shows strong 4Q [fourth quarter] outperformance,” Mark Newton, head of technical strategy at research firm Fundstrat, wrote in a Nov. 14 note. Newton added that the “biotech breakout” is worth following, as this sub-sector is the strongest within health-care right now — and he expects the trend to continue into December. To identify biotech stocks that look cheap and are expected to rally looking ahead, CNBC Pro screened the iShares Biotechnology ETF on FactSet. The ETF, which tracks U.S. biotech stocks, has jumped around 10% in the past month, and risen more than 4% in the past week. It’s down 11% year-to-date, but has outperformed the S & P 500 , which has tumbled about 17% in the same period. CNBC Pro’s screen used the following criteria: A forward price-to-earnings ratio, which looks at estimated earnings for the next 12 months, of less than 10. A low P/E ratio could mean a stock is undervalued. Upside to consensus price target of 10% or more. A buy rating from a significant number of analysts covering the stock on FactSet. Eight stocks turned up on the screen, out of the 366 ETF constituents. Two stocks stood out as having average potential upside of more than 100%, and a buy rating from all analysts who cover them. They are Cullinan Oncology and iTeos Therapeutics . One stock — Chimerix — had an average price target upside of 266% from analysts, 83% of whom gave it a buy rating. Wedbush Securities in a Nov. 4 note rated Chimerix outperform, noting that it ended the quarter with around $285 million in cash and cash equivalents – enough to fund its operations until 2026, according to the investment firm. “We continue to believe CMRX has an attractive risk/reward profile, admittedly for patient investors,” Wedbush’s analysts wrote. Covid vaccine maker BioNTech also showed up on the screen, with a forward PE ratio of 4.5, although only 44% of analysts have a buy rating on the stock. — CNBC’s Patti Domm contributed to this report.
© heardonwallstreet.com