Illumina (ILMN -1.48%) and Beam Therapeutics (BEAM -5.01%) have at least one thing in common: They're advancing genomics, albeit in different ways. In this Motley Fool Live video recorded on Jan. 12, 2022, Motley Fool contributors Keith Speights and Brian Orelli answer a viewer's question about whether or not the two companies are rising stars in healthcare.
10 stocks we like better than Illumina
When our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*
They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Illumina wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 10, 2022
Keith Speights: Illumina, which we've talked about, and Beam Therapeutics, she says, "Are they rising stars, and what about other CRISPR stocks?" Are Illumina and Beam rising stars, Brian?
Brian Orelli: Well, I mean, I think Illumina has already completely risen. It's a pretty big company.
Keith Speights: Illumina might be a constellation, right?
Brian Orelli: Yeah. Beam is definitely a rising star. I really like the technology. I just don't like the valuation at this price. I think they are taking on too much risk for the fact that they don't even have a drug that's in clinical trials yet. But I do like the technology. And I guess if you're willing to hold on to it long enough, it's not necessarily a bad investment. But I would like to get it at a cheaper price. And I'm definitely not going to be buying it at a $5 billion valuation.
Keith Speights: Mabel also asks, "What about other CRISPR stocks?" Any other CRISPR stocks that you think are ones to really take a hard look at?"
Brian Orelli: I haven't really been all that hot on the first-generation CRISPR stocks, mostly just because there's a limited number of diseases where you can knock out a gene and that will solve the problem with the disease. And beyond CRISPR (Therapeutics) (CRSP -3.45%), there's not that many companies.
I think they're all going to end up competing for the same sort of diseases, and they already are. A lot of them are going after sickle-cell disease, and so I think that's the take-home message for the first-generation CRISPR stocks. I'm more interested in companies like Beam, where they can do precise mutations and change mutations precisely. And so that's I think where the technology is going to end up going.
Keith Speights: Yeah, I would agree with you there. Even though Beam Therapeutics is priced at a premium for sure, especially considering where it is in its development cycle, its technology is really promising. If it works well, then that stock is going to be worth a whole lot more than $5 billion in a few years.
