2 stocks under $ 100 that you can buy and keep forever

You don’t need to have Warren Buffett’s bank account to start investing in stocks. You also don’t need to invest only in companies with ultra-high stock prices like Amazon, which is trading at around $ 3,629 per share at the time of this writing. Investing on a budget can also pay off, and there are many solid companies out there that have much more affordable stock prices.

With that in mind, here are two stocks worth buying that are trading for less than $ 100 a share: AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) and Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY).

The AstraZeneca case

AstraZeneca may not have made as big a dent in the coronavirus vaccine market as it hoped, but in my opinion, the opportunities for the business to grow lie elsewhere anyway. The drug maker has a range of treatments with rapidly growing sales, some of which are in its oncology segment. The field of cancer medicine is both the largest and one of the most dynamic in the pharmaceutical industry – spending on these treatments is expected to increase at a compound annual rate of between 9% and 12% until 2025, according to some estimates.

AstraZeneca’s oncology division sales increased 20% year-on-year to about $ 3 billion in the first quarter. Some of its main cancer drugs include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, and Lynparza. Tagrisso sales increased 17% to $ 1.1 billion in the first quarter, Imfinzi revenue increased 20% to $ 556 million, and Lynparza sales reached $ 543 million, or 37 % more than a year ago.

In addition, the patents for two of these three drugs (Tagrisso and Imfinzi) will not expire until the early 2030s. Investors can expect many more years of revenue growth from these drugs, which will likely be further strengthened. by extending labels, as both are still being investigated in clinical trials for new indications. (Imfinzi in particular is featured in more than a dozen ongoing studies.)

Another area of ​​growth for AstraZeneca will be rare diseases, particularly after its $ 39 billion acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, which closed on July 21. Alexion’s two best-selling products – Soliris and Ultomiris – are the only approved treatments for rare blood disorders. Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS).

Alexion has also grown its pipeline of treatment candidates in recent years. Last year, company management said they expected 10 potential product launches by 2023. All of this bodes well for AstraZeneca’s future, as there will likely be a multitude new drug approvals over the next two years that will contribute significantly to its sales for many years to come. (And of course, AstraZeneca had its own pipeline programs even before the acquisition.)

Thanks to all of these factors, this health giant seems like a great stock to buy and forget.

The case of Incyte

Incyte’s share price has fallen 25.2% over the past year, while the S&P 500 is up 35.9%. This poor performance is not too surprising for at least two reasons. First, the company’s shares were highly valued just over a year ago. Second, investors seem increasingly put off by the fact that Incyte’s sources of income are not diversified. It generates most of its sales from Jakafi, a treatment for myelofibrosis and essential polycythemia (both diseases of the bone marrow) as well as acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) refractory to steroids, which is an unwanted immune response that can follow a stem cell transplant.

Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2019, Jakafi remains the only treatment on the market for steroid-refractory GVHD. In the first quarter, Incyte reported total revenue of $ 605 million, up 6% from the first quarter of 2020. Jakafi’s revenue was $ 466 million, a increase of only 1% compared to the same period of the previous year. However, there is more to the story. In the first quarter of 2020, Jakafi’s sales increased in the short term, as healthcare providers advanced some of their purchases over concerns over COVID-19 restrictions.

This isolated product continues to provide over 70% of Incyte’s revenue, but here’s why investors shouldn’t be too worried. First, sales of Jakafi – both in its current indications and in potential label extensions – will likely continue to grow over the next five years. The drug will face the expiration of its first patent in 2027. Second, the company has several potential candidates who could help diversify its revenue streams. These include parsaclisib, which is currently being tested in phase 3 clinical trials as a potential treatment for mantle cell lymphoma, among other diseases.

Naturally, Incyte also intends to increase its sales on its other approved drugs. This list features Monjuvi and Pemazyre cancer treatments, both of which were first approved last year. Incyte may have fallen behind in the market recently, but its stocks have done much better throughout its history as a public company. And thanks to the strengthening of its range, the shares of this biopharmaceutical should rebound. Investors wanting to be patient should consider adding this health care stock to their portfolios.