Cathie Wood Goes Bargain Hunting: She Just Bought 2 Stocks That Wall Street Thinks Will Climb 50% and 190%

Key Points

• Cathie Wood favors buying innovators when their stock prices are down and holding on for the long term.

• Wood’s strategy has helped her flagship fund soar 80% over the past year.

• 10 stocks we like better than CRISPR Therapeutics ›

Cathie Wood is known for seizing opportunities. The founder of Ark Invest doesn't worry when one of the stocks she's invested in drops, and instead, she looks at the movement as a chance to increase her bet -- at a great price. This has worked out nicely for Wood and those invested in her flagship Ark Innovation fund, as it's climbed more than 80% over the past year.

And here's another key component of Wood's strategy: She invests in exciting technology of the future. It doesn't matter if the company hasn't yet launched its product or if the revenue stream still is in its early days. Wood recognizes game-changing companies early in their growth stories and has the patience to buy and hold for the long term.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

With all of this in mind, it's no surprise that Wood picked up more shares last week of the following two companies that Wall Street thinks will soar in the coming 12 months. They both are biotech players involved in the high-potential area of gene editing. Let's take a closer look at Cathie Wood's latest bargain buys.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP), like the other company I'll talk about below, specializes in CRISPR gene editing, a technology that fixes faulty genes involved in disease. This is done by cutting DNA at a particular spot and using the power of a natural repair process.

The company reached a major milestone almost two years ago when it won approval for its first treatment using the technology -- Casgevy, for blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. Casgevy isn't as easy to roll out as a simple pill, as it involves activating treatment centers -- and the treatment process includes several steps such as collecting cells from patients, editing those cells, and returning them to the patient.

All of this means it will take some time to see significant revenue flow in from Casgevy, but the company and its partner Vertex Pharmaceuticals are progressing -- they've launched 75 treatment centers and have collected cells from 115 patients so far.

On top of this, CRISPR Therapeutics has several other gene editing candidates involved in clinical trials, in areas spanning oncology and autoimmune diseases, and with $1.7 billion in cash, the company has the financial strength to support its programs.

CRISPR Therapeutics stock has slipped 20% from its 2025 high in July, and Wood took advantage of that to add more shares of the biotech to Ark Invest. If Wall Street is right, the stock could climb 50% from here in the coming 12 months -- but even if it doesn't, this biotech is well positioned for gains over the long term.

2. Intellia Therapeutics

Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA) also develops CRISPR gene editing candidates, but the company's late-stage projects don't compete with those of CRISPR Therapeutics -- they target different disease areas. Intellia is closest to market with NTLA-2002, or Lonvo-z, an investigational gene editing treatment for hereditary angioedema (HAE).

HAE is characterized by extreme and unpredictable swelling -- a dangerous disorder as it could lead to airway obstruction and then suffocation. This is caused by an overproduction of bradykinin, a peptide that plays a role in inflammation. Intellia tackles this by editing a gene involved in the production of bradykinin, and in earlier trials, one treatment resulted in an average 98% decrease in the monthly HAE attack rate -- this is after a three-year follow up period.

Intellia aims to submit NTLA-2002 for regulatory review in the second half of next year, and the company also is nearing the finish line with its gene editing candidate for another genetic disease, transthyretin amyloidosis. That program also is involved in late-stage studies.

The biotech company has more than $630 million in cash and says that should carry it through the first half of 2027 and into its first product launch.

Intellia carries some risk as it doesn't yet have a product on the market, but trial data, as mentioned, have been strong -- and Wall Street is extremely bullish, with the average 12-month share price forecast implying a mind-boggling 190% gain for the stock. As with CRISPR Therapeutics, whether that happens or not, Intellia still could deliver a long-term win -- and Cathie Wood may have increased her winning potential by buying the stock on its recent dip.

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Adria Cimino has positions in Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CRISPR Therapeutics, Intellia Therapeutics, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.