Many people make it a New Year's resolution to start investing -- a laudable goal. The good news is that doing so doesn't require millions of dollars in the bank. Even with $500, a relatively modest sum, new and seasoned investors alike can get their hands on solid companies with excellent growth prospects.
In fact, let's consider two examples: Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT 1.08%) and Veeva Systems (VEEV 0.91%). A single share of either of these costs well below $500, and both are worth investing in. Let's dig deeper.
1. Sarepta Therapeutics
Sarepta Therapeutics develops medicines for rare diseases, particularly one known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), an inherited condition that causes progressive muscle waste. The biotech's lineup features four therapies for DMD. Its latest approved treatment, Elevidys, was the most important yet. It is a gene therapy that addresses DMD's underlying causes and serves as a one-time treatment for eligible patients.
Thanks to the continued adoption of Sarepta's medicines, the company's top line is growing at a good clip. The drugmaker expects revenue of $1.145 billion for the full fiscal 2023 period, which would equal an increase of 22.7% compared to the previous fiscal year. That's partly thanks to Elevidys, which was only approved in mid-2023 and will end the year with $200.4 million in revenue. Developing medicines for DMD has proved difficult, so the fact that Sarepta has four of them on the market is impressive.
The company isn't stopping there. It will seek label expansions for Elevidys. The biotech also has a pipeline with over 40 programs, many still targeting DMD. Elsewhere, Sarepta recently started a phase 3 study for one of its clinical compounds as a potential treatment for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a group of muscle-related diseases. Sarepta Therapeutics' innovative qualities and deep pipeline should allow it to deliver solid returns.
The company's shares are changing hands for just under $128 apiece, making $500 good for three of them, with change to spare.
2. Veeva Systems
Veeva Systems provides cloud-based software solutions for the life science industry. The company's focus has made it popular among many of the largest drugmakers in the world, including Novo Nordisk, AbbVie, Pfizer, Novartis, and many more. Veeva's strategy is simple. Its cloud-based platform helps address some of the biggest pain points its clients face in developing and testing medical products and eventually marketing them.
Some of these pain points include a labyrinth of regulatory guidelines, the need to safely and accurately record data, and the fact that the process can be slow. The value of the services Veeva provides has generally led to consistent revenue growth, even though it experienced a bit of a slowdown last year. During its latest reporting period -- the third quarter of fiscal 2024 ended on Oct. 31 -- Veeva's revenue increased 12% year over year to $616.5 million.
VEEV Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
Veeva Systems' lower revenue growth rates since mid-2021 are due to a slump in the cloud market, but that shouldn't matter too much to long-term investors. The company estimates it has a total addressable market of more than $20 billion, of which it has a 12% share. In other words: Veeva has a massive runway for growth ahead. And while there is plenty of competition in the broader cloud industry, it is the leader in this small niche that targets life science companies.
Furthermore, it benefits from switching costs because its clients depend on its services for critical day-to-day activities, making it hard to jump ship without risking data loss, business disruptions, and the possibility of failing to comply with some regulations -- a potentially catastrophic event for drugmakers. Veeva Systems' moat means it should retain a strong position in its industry for a long time while delivering consistently solid financial results and stock market performance.
At a price of almost $219 as of this writing, investors can buy two shares of the company.
