9 Healthy Biotech Buys

Baby boomers are getting older and in need of more and more treatments, and
looming patent expirations at Big Pharma has prompted a recent race for the next
big blockbuster drugs. While many of these treatments are being developed by
health care heavyweights, smaller biotechnology firms with a focused mission on
a small category of patients can see huge profits if their research team manages
to develop the next hit in health care. While these picks can be very aggressive
and often live or die based on FDA approval, it's worth noting some of the
best-looking stocks as of this week in the biotech sector. I watch more than
5,000 publicly traded companies with my Portfolio Grader tool, ranking companies
by a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. This week, I'm looking
at nine biotech stocks to buy. Here they are, in alphabetical order. Each one of
these stocks gets an "A" or "B" according to my research, meaning it is
a "strong buy" or "buy." Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN )
develops products for numerous health issues, including the areas of hematology,
nephrology, neurology, ophthalmology and cancer. ALXN is a quite a large
company, with a $12 billion market cap, and has brought in gains of 59% year to
date. AVEO Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVEO ) is best known as a cancer
therapeutics company. A modest gain of 9% year to date for AVEO has kept
shareholderd complacent. Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB ) is involved with
discovering, developing, manufacturing and marketing products for neurological
disorders. BIIB has soared lately, up 40% year to date. Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG )
is involved with the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies
designed to treat cancer and immune-inflammatory diseases. CELG has followed the
trend of other Big Pharma stocks by gaining 6% year to date in a down market.
Cephalon (NASDAQ: CEPH ) focuses on improving the quality of life of people
throughout the world through its various products. CEPH enters the list with a
solid year-to-date return of 31%. Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD ) is best known for
developing and marketing fully integrated systems for testing in the clinical
market. CPHD has been anything but sickly in 2011, gaining almost 76% year to
date, compared to losses by the broader markets. Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD )
is a biopharmaceutical company operating in North America, Europe and Asia
Pacific. Year to date, GILD has gained 8%, compared to losses by the broader
markets. Opko Health Inc. (AMEX: OPK ) is a pharmaceutical and diagnostics
company that is involved with molecular diagnostic tests, pharmaceuticals and
vaccines. Year to date, OPK has far outpaced the broader markets, gaining 23%
amid a volatile market. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX ) discovers,
develops and commercializes small molecule drugs. Year to date, VRTX has
outpaced the market and many other Big Pharma stocks, gaining 27%. Get more
analysis of these picks and other publicly-traded stocks with Louis
Navellier's Portfolio Grader tool, a 100% free stock-rating tool that measures
both quantitative buying pressure and eight fundamental factors.