Got $200? 2 Healthcare Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever

Key Points

• One of these players is a pharma giant trading for a dirt-cheap price today.

• The second stock here is a biotech company that’s recently proven the strength of its game-changing technology.

• 10 stocks we like better than Pfizer ›

You don't have to invest a fortune to get involved in an industry that could offer your portfolio growth along with safety. I'm talking about the field of healthcare, specifically companies that develop therapeutics.

Those that already have drugs on the market bring your portfolio a bit of security for this reason: People rely on their medicines all the time, and that supports drugmakers revenue regardless of the economic environment. And companies that don't yet have commercialized products or have just launched one offer you growth potential -- especially biotech players that are developing game-changing technologies or products.

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If you have $200, you could invest in one of each: a well-established pharma company with a track record of billion-dollar revenue growth and a young biotech that recently proved the strength of its technology with a product approval. Let's check out these stocks to hold forever.

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Pfizer

You may have heard a lot of talk about Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) in recent years, as it's the seller of one of the world's top-selling pharma products: the COVID-19 vaccine. This, along with a coronavirus treatment, helped Pfizer reach a record of $100 billion in sales in 2022.

Since then, the stock has slipped as demand for these products has declined, and the company faces losses of exclusivity on older blockbusters. But here's the good news for you as an investor: Today, you can pick up shares for 7x forward earnings estimates, down from more than 30 a couple of years ago. That's dirt cheap considering the company's long-term potential.

Though times have been tough for Pfizer in recent quarters, there's reason to be optimistic about the years ahead. The company is on track to deliver about $7 billion in cost savings by 2027. Plus, recently launched drugs -- about 19 approved in an 18-month period -- should add to revenue, compensating for the loss of older drugs.

Meanwhile, Pfizer has made and is making key growth moves. The company's benefiting from its purchase of oncology company Seagen, as that biotech's four commercialized drugs are delivering quarterly revenue growth and putting Pfizer on the path to becoming an oncology giant by the early 2030s. And just recently Pfizer said it would buy biotech Metsera, offering it a weight loss drug portfolio and opening the door to a market that's marching toward $100 billion.

All of this makes Pfizer an excellent stock to buy today and hold onto for the long haul.

CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) works in the field of CRISPR gene editing, a technology that aims to fix faulty genes responsible for disease. By cutting DNA at a particular spot and harnessing a natural repair process, the company can create functional cures. So this is big news.

And the biggest news of all is CRISPR Therapeutics already has won approval for a product using this technology, showing that its methods work. The product is Casgevy, a treatment for blood disorders, and it's currently being rolled out across 75 authorized centers -- and 115 patients have begun the process. Casgevy involves several steps over a period of months, so revenue from the product, approved in 2023, takes time to start flowing in, but the company said current patient acquisitions put it on track for "strong future growth."

This product should be just the beginning of CRISPR Therapeutics' growth story because the company applies this technology throughout its pipeline -- a pipeline that includes gene-editing candidates in the areas of immuno-oncology, autoimmune diseases, and cardiovascular disease.

CRISPR Therapeutics expects updates on several of these candidates this year and in the first half of next year. Any news could act as a catalyst for the stock price.

But, regardless of near-term stock performance, CRISPR Therapeutics could offer you much more growth over the long term since it's in the early days of its story as a commercial-stage biotech. And, thanks to the approval of Casgevy, there's reason to be optimistic about the company's technology and its ability to develop game-changing treatments over time.

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Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CRISPR Therapeutics and Pfizer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.