Biogen Idec Inc (BIIB) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) Two of the Three Hottest Biotech Stocks You Must Own

Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) are two of the hottest stocks in biotech today, and should be jumped on now according to Allianz Global Investors analyst John Schroer. He broke down the two stocks on CNBC on Friday beginning with Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), whose explosive growth is very appealing.

“First one would be Biogen. Leading company in the MS (multiple sclerosis) space. They have some very strong earnings growth, 20 to 25% earnings growth over the next three years, and we’re looking at a valuation that’s just below 25 times, so it’s a very attractive name,” Schroer said.

In Biogen’s most recently reported quarter, their fiscal second quarter ending June 30, the company had revenue of $2.42 billion that greatly exceeded analysts’ expectations, and which equaled a 40.5% jump from the same quarter last year.

For Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) the news today wasn’t necessarily ideal, as the stock tumbled on word that there would be pricing pressures on Hepatitis C drugs. The same news adversely affected the stock back in March and April, from which it rebounded and rose more than 50% in the following months.

Schroer expects a similar rebound for Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) from the current news as well, and that the stock still has plenty of upward momentum left in it despite the news and despite its rapid ascent over the past few months. Trading at just 11 times consensus earnings, and with those earnings on the verge of greatly increasing, Gilead remains a strong choice.

Though not specifically discussed during the segment by Schroer, it was also shown that Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) was his third choice as a must-own biotech stock. Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) on Thursday released positive results from their late-stage clinical trial of REVLIMID as a combination treatment for multiple myeloma patients who are ineligible for stem cell transplants.

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