After a dreadful 2022, growth stocks have started to rebound in 2023. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has gained a healthy 15.4% so far this year. Still, scores of beaten-down tech and biotech stocks remain woefully undervalued right now. As a result, there is a surfeit of growth-oriented equities that analysts think could double -- or even quadruple -- in value this year. 

For example, Wall Street analysts think small-cap biotechs Iovance Biotherapeutics (IOVA 3.71%) and Seres Therapeutics (MCRB 15.79%) could see a parabolic rise in their respective share prices in 2023. Here is what investors need to know about these two high-risk, high-reward growth stocks right now.   

Iovance Biotherapeutics: 280% upside potential

Iovance is an anti-cancer T-cell therapy company. The clinical-stage biotech recently completed the rolling Biologics License Application application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead product candidate, lifileucel, as a treatment for patients with advanced melanoma who progressed on or after prior anti-PD-1/L1 therapy and targeted therapy. The company expects to hear back from the agency by the fourth week of May in regard to whether it will accept the filing for review.

There are currently no FDA-approved therapies for this indication, creating a fairly sizable commercial opportunity for lifileucel. Moreover, lifileucel is a novel form of anti-cancer treatment known as a tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. The experimental TIL stands to be the first individualized, one-time cell therapy approved for a solid tumor, according to Iovance.

What's the investing thesis? If it's approved for this unmet medical need, some analysts think lifileucel could rack up hundreds of millions in sales in its first full year on the market. Now, this take is definitely an optimistic one given the logistical challenges associated with individualized cell therapy treatments. But Iovance does sport a unique late-stage asset with a healthy commercial upside. So, if approved, the biotech's shares ought to surge higher. 

Seres Therapeutics: 75% upside potential

Seres Therapeutics is a microbiome specialist. The company is expected to learn the regulatory fate of its orally administered Clostridioides difficile treatment, SER-109, from the FDA by April 26. If it's approved, Seres is slated to earn a $125 million milestone payment from partner Nestlé Health Science through a co-commercialization agreement. The two companies have already started to ramp up production of the therapy in anticipation of this landmark approval. SER-109 would be the first oral microbiome therapy for this fairly common type of bacterial infection. 

The big picture is that this tiny biotech has a real shot at bringing a new standard of care to market for C. difficile infections. As such, SER-109 ought to be a healthy and reliable long-term revenue generator for the company. That being said, Seres does have a revenue-sharing agreement in place with Nestlé. So the main catalyst -- at least in the short term -- will be this upcoming milestone payment. Over the long term, though, SER-109's sales ought to be enough to fund a fair amount of Seres' pipeline activities in antimicrobial resistant-bacterial infections and irritable bowel syndrome, lessening the need for public offerings. 

All told, Seres may be on the cusp of a transformative event -- both for its shareholders and potential patients.