Best Gene-Editing Stocks to Buy in 2026: Are They Right for Your Portfolio?

Gene-editing stocks are shares of biotechnology companies that focus on modifying DNA. How important are these stocks? A brief anecdote might explain it best.

In 2020, American biochemist Jennifer Doudna and French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their discovery of the CRISPR gene-editing technology. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences summed up the significance of their discovery by saying, “This year’s prize is about rewriting the code of life.”

Gene-editing companies using CRISPR technology have the potential to treat and even cure diseases caused by genetic variants. CRISPR (pronounced “crisper”) is an acronym for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. The gene-editing market is projected to reach $30.8 billion by 2032.

Intellia (NTLA +2.21%) was co-founded by Jennifer Doudna in 2014. Its mission is to “develop potentially curative gene editing treatments that can positively transform the lives of people living with severe and life-threatening diseases.”

In 2021, Intellia and its partner, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN -0.66%), announced the first clinical data supporting the use of in vivo (in the body) CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in humans. The two companies are now working together to evaluate nexiguran ziclumeran (formerly known as NTLA-2001) in a late-stage study targeting the rare genetic disease transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR).

Intellia also has a wholly owned late-stage candidate, NTLA-2002. It hopes to file for U.S. regulatory approval of the experimental therapy to treat hereditary angioedema (HAE) in the second half of 2026 and launch it commercially in the U.S. in 2027.

In addition, Regeneron is evaluating a hemophilia B therapy licensed from Intellia in phase 2 clinical testing. Intellia will be eligible for milestone payments and royalties if the experimental therapy advances through clinical development and ultimately wins regulatory approval.

2. CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -1.68%) was co-founded by Emmanuelle Charpentier in 2013. The company’s mission is "developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious human diseases."

CRISPR Therapeutics and its big partner, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX -0.90%), became the first to win regulatory approval for a CRISPR gene-editing therapy in December 2023 for Casgevy in treating sickle cell disease. The two companies won U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval the following month for Casgevy in treating transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.

The commercial launch of Casgevy continues to gain momentum, with Vertex leading the charge. Meanwhile, CRISPR Therapeutics is working to advance several other gene-editing programs.

The company's pipeline includes two allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapies in clinical testing -- CTX112 and CTX131. Allogeneic (which means involving genetically different tissues or cells) CAR-T therapies are often referred to as "off-the-shelf" because they don't require a patient's own cells to be genetically edited and instead use cells from healthy donors.

CRISPR Therapeutics is evaluating two in vivo gene-editing therapies (where gene editing is performed inside the body) in early-stage clinical studies. The company is also conducting clinical testing of an experimental therapy for treating Type 1 diabetes.

3. Beam Therapeutics

Beam (BEAM +4.11%) was co-founded by David Liu and Feng Zhang in 2017 with a vision of “providing lifelong cures to patients suffering from serious diseases.” It is pioneering the use of base editing -- a potential new class of precision gene editing described as a “molecular pencil” that is able to erase and rewrite a mutation rather than slicing it out.

In March 2025, the company announced positive initial results from a Phase 1/2 study evaluating BEAM-302 in treating alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). AATD is a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and/or liver and can lead to emphysema and liver disease.

Beam is evaluating risto-cel (previously known as BEAM-101) in a Phase 1/2 study targeting sickle cell disease. The company hopes to file for U.S. approval of the therapy as early as late 2026. It also expects to report results from a Phase 1/2 study of BEAM-301 in the treatment of glycogen storage disease 1a, a rare disease where a sugar called glycogen builds up and affects organs, and BEAM-302 in the treatment of liver disease alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) in 2026.

Intellia Therapeutics isn't the only gene-editing company co-founded by Jennifer Doudna. The Nobel Prize winner also co-founded Caribou Biosciences (CRBU +6.43%) in 2011, along with CRISPR gene-editing pioneers James Berger and Martin Jinek, as well as Caribou's CEO, Rachel Haurwitz.

Caribou has developed Cas12a chRDNA (which stands for CRISPR hybrid RNA-DNA and is pronounced "chardonnay") technology, a next-generation version of CRISPR gene editing. The company's approach uses hybrid RNA and DNA guides for editing DNA, rather than relying solely on RNA guides. This technology reduces the chances of off-target edits.

The gene-editing company's pipeline features two experimental allogeneic (off-the-shelf) cancer cell therapies in early-stage clinical trials. Vispa-cel (formerly CB-010) targets relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. CB-011 targets relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

5. Sangamo Therapeutics

Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO +0.16%) is one of the earliest leaders in gene editing. Edward Lanphier II founded the company in 1995 and served as its CEO until he retired in 2016.

The company initially focused on gene editing using zinc-finger proteins to target and bind to DNA sequences. It later developed another protein-guided gene-editing technology called modular integrase (MINT).

In December 2025, Sangamo initiated a rolling submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the approval of ST-920 for the treatment of Fabry disease, a rare genetic disorder. The company is evaluating ST-503 in early-stage clinical studies as a potential treatment for chronic neuropathic pain. Sangamo also expects to file for FDA approval in mid-2026 to advance ST-506 into clinical testing for the treatment of prion disease, a rare neurodegenerative disorder.

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