2 Risky Cathie Wood Stocks to Buy Today And Hold For 5 Years

Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK 1.13%) is chock-full of risky businesses that (supposedly) have what it takes to disrupt industries and reshape societies with their groundbreaking products and services. Of course, betting on those innovators-to-be often means investing in unprofitable or otherwise unproven companies, which is part of the reason why the ETF is down 68% over the past year. If those odds don't scare you off, read on as there are a pair of Cathie Wood growth stocks that do show promise for investors willing to take on greater-than-average risk. Its clinical-stage programs are intended to treat or functionally cure illnesses like type 1 diabetes and even certain cancers. As if that wasn't enough, it's also working on a handful of pre-clinical gene editing programs that could theoretically cure hereditary diseases like hemophilia in living people. It'll also require a boatload of spending on research and development (R&D), which cost the biotech $438.6 million in 2021. But the upside potential for investors is huge as there's currently no way to treat the genetic root causes of hereditary conditions. And CRISPR looks to have the resources it'll need to accomplish its lofty ambitions. The medicines, developed in conjunction with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, aim to treat beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease, both of which are hereditary blood disorders. If either is approved, it'll lead to some revenue within the next couple of years. More importantly, sales will buttress the company's $1.9 billion in cash and equivalents. Still, the real treasure will be further down the line, stemming from CRISPR's wholly owned programs, as it won't need to split the proceeds from its successes with a collaborator. Still, investors need to beware of the high risk of unpredictable clinical trial failures. Its pipeline is decidedly early stage, with two clinical programs investigating editing the genes of living people to cure or permanently dramatically improve their hereditary diseases and two clinical programs for medicines that are manufactured with extensive use of gene editing technology. Its pair of potentially curative gene-editing candidates intended for changing the genetic makeup of living patients makes it the global leader in such therapies. That's also a big part of the reason why Intellia is a bit riskier than even CRISPR Therapeutics; there aren't any medicines approved for sale anywhere that are capable of rewriting people's genomes permanently. Regardless, Intellia is aiming to treat or cure a rare disease called transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) with one of its candidates, so it is likely to have the market to itself if it succeeds in the clinic. The biotech's $828 million in cash won't be enough to provision for multiple years of spending at the same rate as its trailing-12-month expenses of above $480 million. To address that shortfall, the company raised an additional $300 million with a stock offering at the end of 2022. Nonetheless, Intellia currently has the resources it needs in the near term to work on its clinical programs and survive long enough to show off its potential. Much like with CRISPR Therapeutics, if this business can manage a win, it'll multiply in value -- so if you're willing to make a speculative investment, it might be a good pick for you. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CRISPR Therapeutics, Intellia Therapeutics, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.