Are you looking for stocks that could put up big gains in a fairly short amount of time? If so, Wall Street analysts would like to talk to you about a few stocks they believe are deeply underappreciated right now.
Investment bank analysts recently initiated coverage of these two growth stocks, and they came away with high expectations. In fact, they slapped price targets on these stocks that suggest they could soar once the rest of the stock market looks at their underlying businesses the same way they do.
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1. Butterfly Network
Butterfly Network (BFLY 2.91%) is a medical device maker that wants to do more than just sell devices. Its lead products are handheld ultrasound scanners that are powered by the company's proprietary technology.
Instead of just selling a device, Butterfly Network is selling subscriptions to software solutions that enable remote management of health conditions. Making ultrasound scans easier to perform is generating lots of imaging information. Helping care providers manage that data could be far more lucrative than simple device sales.
Shares of Butterfly Network have fallen about 77% since the company made its stock market debut in 2021. Analysts at B. Riley, an investment bank, think it can start to recover soon. The bank recently initiated coverage of the stock and gave it a price target that represents an 80% gain once the rest of the stock market agrees with its analysis.
Second-quarter revenue rose 16% year over year to $19.2 million. As the only provider of handheld ultrasound devices and software that helps interpret and manage the images that those devices produce, Butterfly Network can reasonably expect many more years of growth at a double-digit percentage.
2. Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA 2.63%) is a synthetic biology start-up that markets a platform for cell programming and tests for infectious diseases. The stock has collapsed since its stock market debut in 2021, but Wall Street analysts expect a rebound. The consensus price target on Ginkgo right now suggests a 102% gain could be up ahead.
The company's foundry services segment designs custom microorganisms that excrete high-value ingredients using inexpensive feedstocks. For example, Cronos Group hired the Ginkgo foundry to produce cannabigerol (CBG), a naturally occurring cannabis compound that's more powerful than CBD.
The company expects to add 60 new cell programs to its foundry service this year. Most Ginkgo Bioworks' Foundry deals involve relatively small up-front fees, plus royalties on end product sales or an equity stake that could grow significantly if a partnership succeeds.
In addition to foundry services that generated $65 million in top-line revenue during the first half of 2022, Ginkgo has a biosecurity business that provides COVID-19 testing products to public health authorities. Biosecurity revenue exploded to $247 million in the first half of 2022.
Know the risks
It's probably best to keep both of these stocks on a watch list instead of adding them to your portfolio right now. Ginkgo Bioworks manages genetic information a lot better than it manages finances. In the first half of the year, the company lost a whopping $1.3 billion.
Nobody knows when Ginkgo's losses will stop, but it probably won't be soon. In August, management warned investors that biosecurity is an uncertain business, and it's declining sharply. The company expects just $13 million in biosecurity revenue in the second half of 2022.
Butterfly Networks is also losing money at a disturbing pace. In 2022, the company expects to lose between $165 million and $175 million. With revenue expected to reach just $88 million at the upper end of management's guided range, it's still too early to predict sustainable profits from this company.
