Choosing which stocks to buy can be a painstaking process. And it’s right that I do my research before investing my hard-earned cash.
I’m not ashamed to say that, like most other investors, my portfolio has gone down in value this year. In fact, unless I invested purely in commodities, there’s very little chance my portfolio would have gone up in value.
But the current volatility also represents an opportunity to invest as market sentiment, induced by inflation among other things, weighs on share prices.
So, here are my top stocks to buy in July.
Bank of Georgia
Bank of Georgia shares have fallen in recent weeks. In fact, the share price is down 7% over the last month. Shares in the Tbilisi-based bank had gone from strength to strength since February when Russia invaded Ukraine and the share price collapsed. Both countries are major trading partners of Georgia, and the war raised fears that the Georgian economy would grow slower than expected.
In the long run, I see Georgia as a fast-growing and stable market for investments. The Bank of Georgia is also working closely with the EBRD to enhance its stability. The London-based development bank recently lent $35m to the Georgian institution to optimise its capital base and aid green investments in country.
Smith & Nephew
Smith & Nephew stock fell 10% last month and it’s now down 25% over the past year. However, I think this represents a good opportunity to buy a medical giant that should perform well in the long run.
Smith & Nephew recently announced that first quarter revenue rose 5.9% year-on-year to $1.31bn. This was a little above analysts’ forecasts of $1.27bn. The firm also said emerging markets revenue was up 14.3%.
However, 2021 profits were still some way behind pre-pandemic levels. 2020 saw a big hit to profitability as healthcare providers shifted resources towards Covid-19. Profits reached $586m in 2021, down from $743 in 2019.
In the long run, ageing populations will engender greater demand for elective procedures.
CRISPR Therapeutics
CRISPR Therapeutics has bounced up and down over the past month. However, recent gains were wiped out last week after an investor summit suggested its cancer treatment was less effective than had been hoped for.
However, the firm has three 100%-owned gene-editing therapies in clinical trials. Therapies for treating sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia are among its most advanced.
CRISPR stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. It’s a technology being developed by other firms too, but CRISPR Therapeutics is among the most advanced and could be well positioned to monetise its research.
One concern is that Western governments and regulators have been slow to back gene therapy treatments.
My position
I’ve already bought shares in Smith & Nephew and Bank of Georgia. And at the current prices, I’d buy more. The latter is due to go ex-dividend tomorrow, so I’d expect to see the share price fall accordingly.
I haven’t bought CRISPR Therapeutics yet, but it’s on my watchlist. Star stock picker, Cathie Wood, has repeatedly bought the biotech for her fund in recent weeks.
