Granted, finding stocks that could double by summer is no easy feat! After all, the markets have been rocky lately. And with interest rates rising, the growth plays have been under lots of pressure and there has been a rotation into those companies that are likely to benefit from the reopening.
But then again, this has provided for some better valuations (let’s face it, the markets had gotten to frothy levels). So there also may be the foundation for a strong rally for the next couple quarters. This would be the case as economic growth picks up.
That said, what stocks could double? Well, I have some on my list. But it’s important to realize that these are higher risk plays. Thus, it’s important to make sure you have a diversified portfolio to handle the volatility.
With all of that in mind, here are some stocks to consider:
- Cardiff Oncology (NASDAQ:CRDF)
- Berkeley Lights (NASDAQ:BLI)
- Akerna (NASDAQ:KERN)
- Zedge (NYSEAMERICAN:ZDGE)
- Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA)
- Cinedigm (NASDAQ:CIDM)
- Compugen (NASDAQ:CGEN)
Now, let’s dive in and take a closer look at each one.
Stocks that Could Double by Summer: Cardiff Oncology (CRDF)
Cardiff Oncology is a clinical-stage biotechnology that is focused primarily on cancer treatments. Of course, the category is massive but also highly complex and fraught with risk. Many companies have struggled to find effective drugs.
But as for Cardiff Oncology, the company has seen encouraging results for its clinical trials. Just look at onvansertib, which uses tumor genomics and biomarker approaches. It is targeted at a broad array of cancers, such as for colorectal, breast, leukemia and ovarian.
Note that all three clinical programs have shown positive results for safety and effectiveness. Because of this, the company was able to raise more than $100 million in an equity offering — providing it with enough runway for the next couple years or so.
Berkeley Lights (BLI)
Berkeley Lights operates a leading digital platform that helps with the development and commercialization of cell-based drug products. Some of the benefits for customers include: higher chances of success for the treatment; faster time to revenue; and better scale for production.
In the latest quarter, the company’s revenues jumped by 31% to $21.7 million and the installed based rose by 56% on a year-over-year basis. But the growth has been accelerating — and this is likely to continue.
Moreover, Berkeley Lights estimates that the current size of the market opportunity is $6 billion. But it is expected to hit a whopping $222 billion by 2024. In other words, there is quite a bit of runway for growth.
Akerna (KERN)
Managing a cannabis business is definitely challenging. For example, there is a need to deal with myriad regulations and rules.
But Akerna has developed a platform to help out. It has compliance systems and seed-to-sale enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to streamline processes.
In the latest quarter, the revenues shot up by 38% to $3.4 million and gross profit was up 60% to $2.7 million. Also, the company currently has $17.8 million in the bank.
Additionally, the recent acquisition for Viridian — which is an ERP provider — should help boost the growth. Note that the company’s system is integrated with SAP (NYSE:SAP).
Zedge (ZDGE)
Founed in 2003, Zedge is an app developer for smartphone personalization and entertainment. Since inception, there have been about 482 million installs. A key to the success has been the Zedge Premium marketplace, which makes it possible for artists to sell their own content.
As for why this should be a stock that could double by summer, the reason is the blistering growth. In the latest quarter, revenues surged by 101% to $5.3 million, which was a record for the company. Consider that the subscription revenues jumped by 151.2%. The company has even reached profitability and is cash flow positive.
Overall, Zedge has also been expanding its offerings. To this end, it recently launched Shortcastz, which includes high quality podcasts. Thus, this could be another way to help keep up the growth ramp.
Atara Biotherapeutics (ATRA)
Atara Biotherapeutics is a biotech operator that is focused on using T-cells for immunotherapy. At the core of this is its novel allogeneic EBV T-cell platform to create treatments for solid tumors, hematologic cancers and autoimmune disease
There could be near-term catalysts. For example, the company expects to complete the BLA filing for ATA188, which is for different forms of MS (Multiple Sclerosis). Then there is the Phase 1 trial for the ATA2271/ATA3271 programs, which are for solid tumors. Atara Biotherapeutics has been able to strike a strategic relationship with Bayer for this.
The company is also well-capitalized and will probably not need to issue any equity in the next couple years. In fact, there is about $500 million in the bank (as of the end of 2020).
Cinedigm (CIDM)
Cinedigm stock has cooled off lately. But there could easily be another run on this one — making it a pretty good candidate for stocks that could double by summer.
The company is the owner of niche content for streaming services. It has also been ramping up dealmaking to bolster the portfolio. Just some of the recent acquisitions include: Fandor, FoundationTV, Film Detective and Screambox.
In the meantime, the company has been building out its own ad-supported channels, such as with The Bob Ross Channel, CONtv Anime and MyTime Movie Network. In the latest quarter, the revenues for this segment 150%.
But there is another catalyst that could drive the valuation on the stock: the NFT (non-fungible token) market. Yes, with Cinedigm’s rich content, the company could be poised to be a beneficiary of this fast-growing category.
Compugen (CGEN)
Compugen has built a discovery platform for cancer immunotherapy. And it has been showing effectiveness, as seen with the Phase 1 program for COM701. It has shown signals of anti-tumor activity. There has also been an expansion of the program to include the drug Opdivo. As a result of this, Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) has expanded its collaboration with Compugen. Some of the indications for COM701 include NSCLC, breast, ovarian, endometrial and colorectal cancers.
But there are other therapies in the pipeline that look promising, such as COM902 (for advanced malignancies) and BAY 1905254 (for advanced solid tumors).
In terms of the financial resources, there is enough for the near-term. Note that the company has $124.4 million in the bank.
On the date of publication, Tom Taulli did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article except for long positions in BLI, CIDM and ZDGE.
Tom Taulli (@ttaulli) is the author of various books on investing and technology, including Artificial Intelligence Basics, High-Profit IPO Strategies and All About Short Selling. He is also the founder of WebIPO, which was one of the first platforms for public offerings during the 1990s.