What other tech stock to consider?

[bkp_duke]

What makes the mRNA companies special is NOT that they build mRNA strands. It's how they get them into cells. For decades that was the hard part, "transfecting" mRNA into cells. I remember the painful electroporation days when we were ecstatic if 2% of our cells took up the mRNA strand and expressed the protein.

That should be what is viewed as the proprietary tech for mRNA companies. I just don't know if there is enough proprietary to make it a worthwhile investment, except for directed and specific use cases like vaccines.


CRSPR on the other hand is pretty ground-breaking, because it allows for pretty good (but not perfect) DNA strand editing.

 

[Sanny]

Is this a specific company, mRNA, or a question please?
..
What company is this mRNA thing though please?
are they building synthetic DNA to make stuff?

Thanks! I'm mostly trying to wrap my head around messenger RNA tech and major players in it and understand why ARKG is almost not participating in it

 

[Cosmacelf]

Thanks! I'm mostly trying to wrap my head around messenger RNA tech and major players in it and understand why ARKG is almost not participating in it

Maybe because the companies behind messenger RNA are big pharma companies, and not hyper growth companies anymore?

 

[ClownMouth]

I’m not sure if this is the thread or if Roth IRA strategy deserves its own but I’m interested in how people approach Roth investing as a new contribution year is upon us.

I posted a few months back how I started my Roth later than my other accounts (Nov 2018 was my first Roth contribution) so I’m kind of playing catch up and open to riskier plays since I also have a Simple IRA through my employer and my personal brokerage account.

This year I considered many names but decided I really wanted to get 1 Bitcoin in my Roth (thru GBTC). The $6K was never going to get a whole one but combined with a single Jan 15 $600 TSLA call I thought I had a shot. Clearly with the run up lately that is no longer the case but I still think $GBTC is my play for these dollars and the potential it could provide in an after-tax account.

Would love to hear how others approach this year and what you might be investing in and thoughts on timing contributions, if your age matters, etc. (FWIW I am 40 so have about 20 years before this money is accessible).

 

[bkp_duke]

I have limited margin for my Roth IRA account, so I do some trading in it with relatively conservative options (mainly covered calls).

 

[Sanny]

Maybe because the companies behind messenger RNA are big pharma companies, and not hyper growth companies anymore?

Looking just into market caps I cannot come to this conclusion.
MRNA - $41b, BNTX - $19b, CureVac - $14b, CRISPR - $10b. I would guess that the market already included all of the upside of the COVID vaccine, but I'm mostly interested in long term prospects of the technology - is it 10x in the next 10 years or not? Unfortunately at this point I do not have enough info to pick them myself, was hoping Cathy would (Wood) do it for me.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Looking just into market caps I cannot come to this conclusion.
MRNA - $41b, BNTX - $19b, CureVac - $14b, CRISPR - $10b. I would guess that the market already included all of the upside of the COVID vaccine, but I'm mostly interested in long term prospects of the technology - is it 10x in the next 10 years or not? Unfortunately at this point I do not have enough info to pick them myself, was hoping Cathy would (Wood) do it for me.

Yeah, it was just a guess on my part, I was too lazy to lookup market caps. Welp, I have no idea why ARK didn't invest in them then. Would be a good question to ask.

 

[Frizer]

Yeah, it was just a guess on my part, I was too lazy to lookup market caps. Welp, I have no idea why ARK didn't invest in them then. Would be a good question to ask.

mRNA is protein on demand.
It will be a game changer. As to which company will be able to dominate? No idea. I think it’s best to bet the field.

 

[Sanny]

mRNA is protein on demand.
It will be a game changer. As to which company will be able to dominate? No idea. I think it’s best to bet the field.

In my layman understanding it is *already* a game changer (COVID vaccine will soon be injected in hundreds of millions of people) vs *soon to be a game changer* like CRISPR.

 

[bkp_duke]

In my layman understanding it is *already* a game changer (COVID vaccine will soon be injected in hundreds of millions of people) vs *soon to be a game changer* like CRISPR.

CRISPR is already in clinical trials for some very NASTY diseases. The one that always comes to mind because I had to work with so many of these kids is Cystic Fibrosis.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

CRISPR is already in clinical trials for some very NASTY diseases. The one that always comes to mind because I had to work with so many of these kids is Cystic Fibrosis.

Other things like Multiple Sclerosis, Sickle-Cell Anemia, and that sort of thing are on tap too. Gene therapy is going to revolutionize humanity.

 

[30seconds]

Both RNA and DNA therapies are on their third or fourth go around as viable pharma products. Both have advantages and disadvantages and can be used in different areas. I wouldn't worry about 2020 being the RNA year or anything like that. The technology was already widespread years before, but the issue was which technical hurdles would be cleared to make them useful from a product standpoint.

We also saw an interesting year with gene therapy companies like Bluebird, which was the DNA high flyer from 2018 & 2019, come down because of potential issues with their technology not being precise enough. CRISPR was the company that became the DNA high flyer in 2020 with a slight better / better tech. BEAM is another recent IPO with even more precise editing tech.

As of today I wouldn't try to pick a winner between the three (and I do this for a living) but I can understand wanting broad exposure.

In terms of mRNA / RNA, 2020 has been great to see a company like Moderna execute on their vaccine playbook which has been their strategy for some time. For me it is still unclear how to translate this tech broadly to other diseases (e.g., auto-immune, cardiovascular, metabolic, neural /CNS) which would be a real game changer. Maybe pursue a strategy of looking at a basket of RNA companies working outside of vaccines given the early / high risk nature.

 

[Silentk]

I am looking to invest in ARKG, however, I have discovered that ARK does not offer their ETF's in Europe? Has anyone found a work-around?

I am in the same position. Easiest thing to do may be just to copy their portfolio and buy some of the individual stocks yourself.

Here is the full list of their genomics portfolio: https://ark-funds.com/wp-content/fu..._REVOLUTION_MULTISECTOR_ETF_ARKG_HOLDINGS.pdf

and here are their top 10 in that portfolio:

 

[golfcart]

I grabbed about 50 shares of Bionano Genomics (BNGO) last week at $2.50 on a rumor that it was going to rise because their Saphyr system was about to get some good results. Just dumb luck browsing some forum. The thing is through the roof pre-market this morning wish I had bought more.

Anyone of you medical folks on here know anything about this tech? Apparently their optical genome mapping tech recently tested very well against some much more expensive competitors. Not sure if I should buy more of this at this point or just take my profits and run while the hype is big.

 

[JRP3]

ABML taking some hits lately.

 

[ZeApelido]

What makes the mRNA companies special is NOT that they build mRNA strands. It's how they get them into cells. For decades that was the hard part, "transfecting" mRNA into cells. I remember the painful electroporation days when we were ecstatic if 2% of our cells took up the mRNA strand and expressed the protein.

That should be what is viewed as the proprietary tech for mRNA companies. I just don't know if there is enough proprietary to make it a worthwhile investment, except for directed and specific use cases like vaccines.


CRSPR on the other hand is pretty ground-breaking, because it allows for pretty good (but not perfect) DNA strand editing.

I am no expert but from the little I read I agree that is the key value tech.

The problem is the transfection of mRNA into cells breakthrough has not yet been able to work properly for a lot of treatments, because those treatments require too many doses to have an effect.

Moderna pivoted to vaccines, because the immune system is okay with one or two doses and does not attack the mRNA.

If they can figure out how to make it work better to avoid immune system response, then there's a whole bunch of new treatments possible and value is huge.

But I haven't read anything about progress there. With just vaccines, it's not a high growth opportunity.

That's my dumb understanding so far.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

Haha wow @ QS, first it kills the shorts and now it kills the longs.

 

[northtoronto]

Haha wow @ QS, first it kills the shorts and now it kills the longs.

What the hell is going on here! I have 250 shares taking a beating today.

 

[bkp_duke]

What the hell is going on here! I have 250 shares taking a beating today.

Scroll up. Don't be surprised to see further downside.

Not advice.

 

[JRP3]

Scroll up. Don't be surprised to see further downside.

Not advice.

Wrong thread. All discussion of QuantumScape QS