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With market volatility becoming commonplace, Piper Sandler looks at eight “high-quality” defensive growth stocks in the biopharma space this week. Global stock markets sold off on Monday, with the S&P 500 down 3% following a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report.
While benchmark indexes recovered as the week progressed, Piper analyst Christopher Raymond and team noted that the biopharmaceutical industry is largely insulated from macro headwinds as many treatments enjoy demand elasticity.
The team added: “With current global market turmoil simultaneously leading to a broad-based sell-off and potentially increasing the likelihood of an early interest rate cut, we believe it makes sense to own a basket of high-quality defensive growth stocks.”
To this end, analysts recommend biopharmaceutical companies with durable and high-growth prospects, largely de-risked assets and recession-resistant businesses. Piper’s coverage includes the following eight defensive biotechnologies.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:Arnie), Algenx (NASDAQ: ARGX), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX), BioMarin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BMRN), Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (CPRX), Cytokinetics (CYTK), Legend Biotech (LEGN) and Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT)
The brokerage has an “overweight” rating on all stocks, with target prices of $296, $553, $20, $107, $26, $107, $90 and $205 per share respectively.
