A low share price doesn't necessarily mean a stock is valued attractively. For example, you wouldn't invest in a company that markets oceanfront property in Arizona regardless of how low its share price was. However, prices per share can matter to investors who don't have a lot of cash to put to work.
If you're in that group, you're in luck. Three Fool.com contributors have identified what they view as magnificent stocks trading at under $100 to buy in November. Here's why they picked AstraZeneca(NASDAQ: AZN), Exelixis(NASDAQ: EXEL), and Summit Therapeutics(NASDAQ: SMMT).
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A growth beast at a discounted valuation
David Jagielski(AstraZeneca): One of the most magnificent stocks healthcare investors can buy for the long haul is U.K.-based AstraZeneca, which is trading at around $76 right now. The company has a robust business that generates revenue from many different therapeutic areas, and the business is always innovating and finding ways to grow.
Through the first half of the year, the company reported $25.6 billion in sales, which grew at a rate of 18% year over year (at constant exchange rates), while earnings per share increased by 23% when factoring out foreign exchange. The company has experienced double-digit growth in multiple areas of its business, including oncology, cardiovascular, rare disease, and respiratory segments.
AstraZeneca is projecting that by the end of the decade, it will be generating around $80 billion in annual revenue. That's a big jump from the $45.8 billion it brought in last year. And it plans to achieve this growth while maintaining strong core operating margins of around 30%.
Shares of AstraZeneca look fairly cheap, given the stock's ambitious growth opportunities. Currently, investors can buy the stock with its price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio being below 1, indicating that it's a good value investment when factoring in analyst growth expectations for the business for the next five years.
A David among Goliaths
Prosper Junior Bakiny (Exelixis): If you have $100 to invest, Exelixis is one of the better biotech stocks to put your money in -- and that amount could almost get you three shares of the company.
It's not the largest or most famous drugmaker around. With a market cap of $9.25 billion, Exelixis isn't in large-cap territory yet. However, it has managed to carve out a niche in the highly competitive oncology market, which the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world largely dominate.
Exelixis' Cabometyx is a drug that treats some form of liver and kidney cancer. The medicine continues to grind out new indications -- it is currently awaiting one in advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor -- while remaining the top-prescribed treatment of its type in renal cell carcinoma (a type of kidney cancer).
Cabometyx also keeps driving higher revenue for Exelixis. In the third quarter, the company's sales were up 14.3% year over year, a strong performance for a biotech company.
Further, Exelixis recently fended off a legal challenge from the privately held drugmaker MSN Laboratories, whose generic version of Cabometyx won't be allowed to be marketed in the U.S. until early 2030. The market was rightly worried that if the decision had gone the other way, a generic version of Cabometyx would have substantially harmed Exelixis' revenue. This win made Exelixis a much more attractive stock.
Exelixis is also developing newer medicines, including zanzalintinib, a potential cancer medicine being tested in several phase 3 studies. Zanzalintinib could earn approval in the next two years.
In the meantime, Cabometyx should continue being a star performer for Exelixis. So, with strong financial results, an exciting pipeline, and potential catalysts on the way, Exelixis looks like a solid stock to buy this month, and a single share is trading hands for less than $34.
A great pick for aggressive investors
Keith Speights (Summit Therapeutics): Unlike AstraZeneca and Exelixis, Summit Therapeutics doesn't have any products on the market yet. Clinical-stage biotech stocks aren't a good fit for some investors, especially if you're risk-averse or looking for income. However, I think Summit is a great pick right now for aggressive investors.
At first glance, you might be skeptical about this stock. Summit's market cap stands at nearly $13.5 billion. That's steep for a company that hasn't generated any revenue in 2024. But the story could change for Summit in the not-too-distant future.
Summit expects to report top-line results in mid-2025 from a late-stage clinical study evaluating ivonescimab as a second-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It's also conducting one phase 3 trial of the drug as a first-line treatment of NSCLC, with plans to advance it into another phase 3 study early next year.
While there's no guarantee these clinical studies will be successful, investors have good reason to be optimistic. Earlier this year, a late-stage study conducted in China that evaluated ivonescimab as a first-line treatment of NSCLC found that it reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 49%. That beat Merck's cancer immunotherapy Keytruda. To put this into context, Keytruda generated sales of $25 billion last year, ranking it as the world's top-selling drug.
With Summit Therapeutics' shares trading at around $18, you could scoop up five shares for $100. Wall Street thinks the stock could soar more than 50% over the next 12 months. If Summit reports positive results for ivonescimab next year, I suspect this hefty gain is achievable.
Again, Summit Therapeutics isn't for every investor. But for some, it could truly be a magnificent stock to buy.
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David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Keith Speights has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Exelixis. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Exelixis, Merck, and Summit Therapeutics. The Motley Fool recommends AstraZeneca Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
