Market Sell-Off: 2 Stocks Down 17% and 36% This Year to Buy and Hold

Prosper Junior Bakiny, The Motley Fool

Sat, Apr 26, 2025, 8:30 AM 4 min read

What should investors do during a stock-market correction? One great strategy is to go shopping. A bull market will eventually follow the challenging and volatile times we face, and, based on history, this bull run is likely to be longer than the current ordeal. Furthermore, companies often end up trading for steep discounts during corrections, since many investors are unable to resist the urge to panic-sell -- one more reason why fortunes are made during downturns.

With that in mind, let's consider two stocks down 17% and 36%, respectively, this year that are worth investing in right now: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) and Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA).

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Moderna made a name for itself by quickly developing and marketing an effective COVID-19 vaccine when the world needed it most. Although it made a small fortune in this area, the biotech has been struggling since the pandemic started to recede. Moderna's revenue declined substantially while it returned to being unprofitable. The current volatile environment isn't helping the stock, either.

But there is some good news: Moderna has made significant clinical progress in the past couple of years. It earned approval for a vaccine for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), mRESVIA, while it aced phase 3 studies for a combination coronavirus/influenza vaccine that could earn the green light sometime this year. This combo vaccine would be the first to inoculate patients against both COVID and flu, showing Moderna's innovative abilities once again.

The company consistently targets areas with high unmet needs, including some where no approved vaccines exist. Its late-stage pipeline features a potential vaccine for cytomegalovirus (CMV) -- there are currently none -- and a personalized cancer vaccine that could help significantly decrease the risk of recurrence or death in eligible patients. Moderna's early-stage pipeline boasts other ambitious candidates. The field of mRNA-based vaccines, in which the biotech specializes, is still relatively new -- but it looks incredibly promising.

Traditional vaccines are made from weakened viruses or bacteria, a process that takes time. While mRNA ones need the genetic code of the target infectious agent, they're faster and cheaper to develop. Moderna is proving to be an innovative player in this growing field, and it has a deep pipeline that should lead to more significant clinical milestones down the line.