You’ve probably heard – numerous times – that the fictional world of Jurassic Park is about to become reality.
And probably every time, after you read the article or listened to the report, the actual innovation was a letdown.
No, I’m not predicting we will see the rebirth of dinosaurs.
But we may soon see formerly extinct species spring to life once again.
Scientists in Australia recently used a cutting-edge gene-editing technique to insert DNA from the passenger pigeon, which went extinct in 1914, into the common pigeon. If all goes as planned, birds from that flock will become the first animals to have genetic codes from an extinct species.
Now that’s no letdown and will be, if successful, a huge scientific breakthrough.
There could be a big profit breakthrough here, too.
The so-called next generation sequencing (NGS) market that underpins these breakthroughs will be worth $21.4 billion by 2025, according to Grand View Research.
That would be astounding 362% growth from the $4.62 billion NGS market of 2015.
And you can ride that soaring market with the company I’m about to tell you all about.
The “Pick and Shovel” Play on De-Extinction
The technology behind these Australian researchers’ work is known as CRISPR-Cas9.
And it has implications far beyond bringing back bringing back passenger pigeons and perhaps other extinct species.
At it is most basic level, this scientists use this gene-editing technology to precisely modify, delete, or correct disease-causing abnormalities at their genetic sources.
This could have a profound impact on human health, perhaps being the key to the cures for everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s to cystic fibrosis. MarketsandMarkets pegs the value of the gene-editing and -engineering sector at $6.4 billion in 2022.
But as exciting as I find this field, there is a challenge for the average retail investor. No doubt, pure plays on CRISPR-Cas9 are higher reward, but they’re also higher risk. If that suits your investor profile, I’ve got a play for you – just click here to find out more.
For retail investors looking for a more stable piece of the action in such a profound new field, I suggest putting your money in a rock-solid supplier.
By investing in this “pick and shovel” play, you get both the incredible science – and terrific growth in sales and profits.
That why I recommend Illumina Inc. (Nasdaq: ILMN). This San Diego-based biotech legend was one of the first firms to seize on the vast new field of genetic analysis when it got started back in 1998.
Today, this is a very profitable firm whose state-of-art gene-sequencing and -editing equipment remains at the forefront of this rapidly growing field.
This explains why the firm has racked up a record of double-digit growth over the last several years.
With that in mind, let’s run it through Your Tech Wealth Blueprint. Those are the five rules we use to spot highly lucrative tech plays.
Tech Wealth Rule No. 1
Great Companies Have Great Operations
These are well-run firms with top-notch leaders.
Francis deSouza certainly knows how to build shareholder wealth. Since he joined the company as president in November 2013, the stock is up 227%.
He did such a good job running the products groups and charting a growth vision that the firm named him CEO in July 2016
DeSouza has a deep tech and entrepreneurial background. He served as head of products and services at cybersecurity leader Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC). DeSouza joined Symantec in 2006 after it bought one he cofounded, IM Logic.
For deSouza, lightning struck twice. He earlier joined Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), in 1998, after it acquired another tech firm he created. At Microsoft, he headed a group responsible for instant messaging, chat, voice over IP, and other collaboration tools.
Tech Wealth Rule No. 2
Separate the Signal From the Noise
To create real wealth, you have to ignore the hype and find companies with rock-solid fundamentals.
There’s no shortage of hype in the biotech sector. Wall Street regularly plugs firms that have exciting clinical trials underway that might lead to blockbuster drugs.
In reality, however, many of the drugs won’t get approved.
We don’t have that issue with Illumina.
It makes advanced screening machines and kits that are widely used throughout the entire biopharma industry, including gene-based medicines.
Tech Wealth Rule No. 3
Ride the Unstoppable Trends
Look for stocks in red-hot sectors because they offer the best chance for life-changing gains.
Illumina is set to tap explosive growth in gene sequencing. Consumers and professionals alike are moving quickly to scan genomes for both ancestry information and for new ways to track and combat disease.
Because thousands of diseases are genetic, health agencies around the world are stepping up their efforts as well.
Two weeks ago, England and the state of Nevada both announced genetics initiatives. England said it would sequence some 5 million genomes over the next five years, while Nevada seeks to grow its efforts by 10-fold to test roughly 250,000 people.
Tech Wealth Rule No. 4
Focus on Growth
Companies with the strongest growth rates almost always offer the highest stock returns.
Illumina grew sales in its most recent quarter by 25%. That means it is growing six times faster than the economy.
The result shows its expansion plans are gaining steam, and its three-year average comes in at 13%
If we take blend of the two, we see that sales should roughly double in less than four years.
Moreover, Illumina now has an installed client base of 11,000 machines but projects that it could have a total of 50,000 customers in the next few years.
Tech Wealth Rule No. 5
Target Stocks That Can Double Your Money
This is where we look at the firm’s earnings growth and see how long it will take to double profits. By doing that we can figure out how long on average it should take for the stock to double – to make us some sweet triple-digit gains.
I’ve gone through the firm’s financial in detail and am projecting that, conservatively, earnings per share will grow by an average 26% over the next three years.
Over the past three years they have grown by an average 13%, but they soared by 74% in the most recent quarter.
Now we use what I call my Doubling Calculator. Divide the compound profit growth rate of 36% into the number 72.
We find that any Illumina shares you buy today should double in 2.7 years.
The stock trades at roughly $328, giving it a $45 billion market cap.
And earlier this week, Illumina crushed on third-quarter earnings with adjusted per-share profits rising 37% to $1.52, compared with consensus forecasts of $1.25. Plus, it sees 20% sales growth for all of 2018, just 0.33% less than what the Street had forecast for the year.
It just goes to show that, with genomic sequencing going mainstream, this is a stock with a lot of power behind it.
Over the past fast years, it has gained roughly 306%.
In fact, Illumina is up 36.4% since March 21, when I recommended it as a play on legal cannabis (the company analyzes marijuana genetics).
And as I just showed you, it’s set to at least double from here in less than three years.
With a play like this you get the thrill of being at the leading edge of a new field of science – one that could help bring extinct species back.
And you’re backed by stable growth you can count on for years to come.
Now if you’re more interested in the CRISPR-Cas9 tech I told you about earlier, I’ve got some more good news.
Back in May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked for a delay to review the safety of gene editing in human clinical trials. But as of last week, that delay has been lifted, helping bring key trials from biotech companies pursuing this tech closer to fruition.
That means, if you aren’t up to speed with CRISPR-Cas9, this is a fine time to read my deep dive on this technology. As that presentation discusses, by altering the basic pathways of genetic codes, firms like the high-flying “pure play” I told you about earlier aim to cure diseases, boost crop yields, tap into new energy sources, and now bring back extinct species.
See you back here soon.
Michael A. Robinson
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Source: Strategic Tech Investor