Meet the New Nasdaq-100 Stock That’s Crushing Nvidia, Micron, and Sandisk. Is It Too Late to Buy?
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) stocks soared in the triple and quadruple digits, leading the S&P 500 higher. Investors rushed to get in on the next big tech growth story, a technology with the potential to transform how many things are done and, as a result, fuel significant gains in corporate earnings. Companies such as AI chip designer Nvidia and memory chip providers Micron Technology and Sandisk have seen their shares skyrocket, and the positive momentum continues today.
But this year, AI stocks haven’t been the only growth story. In fact, though they continue to advance, investors have expanded into other industries and turned their attention to new growth opportunities. And this brings me to the stock I’ll talk about right here.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a “Double Down” signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same “Total Conviction” signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
This particular company, a biotech innovator, has seen its shares surge more than 600% this year, largely outperforming Nvidia, Micron, Sandisk, and many other top-performing AI stocks. And just a few days ago, it entered the prestigious Nasdaq-100, an index that tracks the biggest non-financial Nasdaq companies.
This stock has been a clear winner for investors this year. But after its enormous gain, is it too late to buy now? Let’s find out.
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Moderna’s coronavirus blockbuster
The stock I’m talking about has known both tremendous increases and major declines in past years. This company is Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), a biotech that made headlines when it brought its coronavirus vaccine from the drawing board to commercialization in less than a year. That was during the early days of the pandemic, and the vaccine, the company’s first commercialized product, became a blockbuster, bringing in more than $18 billion at its peak in 2022. Investors piled into Moderna stock, pushing it to a gain of more than 2,000% over about a year and a half.
In recent years, however, Moderna faced significant headwinds. Demand for the vaccine declined in the later days of the pandemic, the company’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine has struggled to gain market share, and Moderna’s much-anticipated cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine candidate failed in a phase 3 study.
But Moderna has progressively turned things around. The company cut costs to match the current coronavirus vaccine revenue opportunity, won approval of new products such as a flu vaccine and new coronavirus vaccine updates, and focused its pipeline on oncology and rare diseases in addition to respiratory illnesses. In fact, the progress in oncology has been a catalyst for the stock’s performance this year.
