Is This Undervalued Biotech Stock Your Best Shot at Building a Millionaire-Making Portfolio?

Investors consistently gravitate toward a certain type of stock that offers the possibility that a modest wager made today could subtly transform into a game-changing investment ten years from now. There are many such tales in biotech. The majority of them don’t work out.

A few do. CRISPR Therapeutics, which is currently the second-largest holding at about 6.6% of the portfolio in Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF, has been sitting in that uncomfortable middle ground for some time, half-loved, half-doubted, and still appearing close to the top.

It’s difficult to ignore the reasons why people continue to pay attention. The company already has an approved treatment called Casgevy, which it co-developed with Vertex Pharmaceuticals. It is a real product on the market that is used to treat actual patients with beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease. Just that sets it apart from the long list of biotech names that failed to advance past Phase 3. Additionally, one of the company’s co-founders shared the Nobel Prize for discovering the CRISPR-Cas9 technology, which initiated all of this. Investors appear to think the science is genuine. Whether the company behind it can expand quickly enough to support the dream is the more difficult question.

because the figures have been odd thus far. Even though Casgevy was approved in late 2023, Vertex did not make any profit that could be shared last year. The manufacturing pipeline, which has proven to be far more delicate than anyone anticipated, is the cause, not pricing or demand. It is truly challenging to extract viable stem cells from sickle cell patients. Only five of the 54 patients who underwent their initial stem cell collection in 2024 received their final infusion. Although 64 infusions in 2025 were an improvement, most patients who started the collection process had not yet received the completed therapy by year’s end. For something that the market once anticipated scaling rapidly, that is a slow and annoying ramp.

Additionally, there is competition that receives insufficient attention. Lyfgenia, a competing cell-based sickle cell treatment, is sold by Genetix, the rebranded Bluebird Bio. Over 100 infusions were reported by Genetix last year, and the majority of those patients reportedly only required one stem cell collection. There is a significant operational gap there. Simpler is typically better for a disease where the patient is physically strained at every stage of the procedure.

However, it seems premature to write CRISPR Therapeutics off. The pipeline extends beyond Casgevy; oncology, type 1 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease programs are quietly advancing, and the field of gene editing has just started to gain commercial traction. Years ago, when its factories were operating but its profit margins weren’t, Tesla had its fair share of doubts. Biotech stories frequently follow this pattern: protracted periods of skepticism are interspersed with abrupt turning points that few anticipate.

Certainty is not what makes CRSP intriguing. It’s the imbalance. The slow grind that investors are already enduring is the drawback. If even one or two pipeline projects succeed, there could be huge benefits. As this develops, there’s a feeling that the market hasn’t fully determined whether this is an early-stage giant still getting its footing or a stalled gene-editing pioneer.

In fifteen years, CRISPR Therapeutics might become one of those stocks that people quietly mention and regret not purchasing sooner. It’s also possible that the millionaire-making thesis becomes a cautionary tale because the manufacturing issues are never fully resolved at scale. As of right now, it is still exactly what it has been for some time: a real wager on real science with no assurance.