In a sense, every investor is a growth investor. Even those who are primarily seeking income enjoy when the stocks they buy increase in value. But which stocks are likely to deliver growth over the next few years?
Three Motley Fool contributors think they’ve found magnificent growth stocks to buy right now. Here’s why they picked AstraZeneca(NASDAQ: AZN), Eli Lilly(NYSE: LLY), and Vertex Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: VRTX).
David Jagielski(AstraZeneca): One of the best growth stocks right now is AstraZeneca. The stock hasn’t been the hottest buy of late, and entering trading this week it was down more than 11% over the past six months. But there’s tremendous value here if you’re willing to buy and hold.
The company wrapped up a solid year in 2024 where its revenue rose by 21% (when excluding the impact of foreign exchange) to $54 billion. And for this year, it’s projecting its top line to continue to increase in the high single digits. But the real upside is for investors who are willing to buy and hold. That’s because by 2030, AstraZeneca expects sales to soar to $80 billion as it launches new medications in the years ahead.
AstraZeneca sees significant growth opportunities in expanding its oncology, biopharmaceutical, and rare-disease portfolios. With a diversified product mix, it’s in an excellent position to continue growing at a rapid pace, and acquisitions have played a big part in its growth. It has closed multiple deals within the past 12 months, including for Amolyt Pharma and Fusion Pharmaceuticals. It’s working on next-gen cancer treatments involving radioconjugates.
Not only are the company’s growth prospects promising, but the stock’s valuation also looks incredible as it’s trading at a price-to-earnings-growth multiple of around 0.9, which tells investors that there’s excellent value here given the long-term potential for the business to grow its bottom line in the years ahead. Plus, with a dividend that yields 2%, there’s some good incentive for investors to buy and wait for this magnificent growth stock to realize its potential and rise higher in value in the future.
Prosper Junior Bakiny (Eli Lilly): The title of “largest therapeutic area in the pharmaceutical industry in terms of revenue” might go to oncology or immunology, but right now, the weight loss space may be the fastest-growing. And as a leader in this niche, Eli Lilly is cashing in more than almost any of its peers. Eli Lilly’s revenue and earnings have been growing at an incredible pace in the past two years thanks to tirzepatide, a weight loss management clinical compound also used to treat diabetes.
Eli Lilly’s revenue should continue growing at a good clip for the foreseeable future, but the company’s strengths go far beyond its obesity or diabetes products. Eli Lilly’s portfolio is somewhat diversified, with blockbuster medicines in areas such as oncology (with breast cancer medicine Verzenio) and immunology (with immunosuppressants like Taltz.
Further, the pharmaceutical company has several newer products in its lineup that could eventually generate more than $1 billion in annual sales. These include Alzheimer’s disease treatment Kisunla, eczema therapy Ebglyss, and ulcerative colitis drug Omvoh. These medicines aren’t yet contributing to Eli Lilly’s already impressive top-line growth. That says a lot about the future of the company.
Of course, Eli Lilly will remain a leader in diabetes and weight loss — it has been one of the more prominent players in the former market for decades. However, the company is far more than that. Its current lineup, pipeline, and strong financial results make Eli Lilly an excellent growth stock to buy and hold.
Keith Speights (Vertex Pharmaceuticals): If you invested in Vertex Pharmaceuticals 10 years ago and didn’t sell the biotech stock, you’d be sitting on a return of over 320% right now. Most investors wouldn’t complain about those kinds of gains. However, I predict Vertex’s truly magnificent growth is in the future rather than the past.
Why am I so optimistic? A lot of my confidence stems from the fact that Vertex recently won two key U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals. The first approval came in December 2024 for Alyftrek, which I expect will become the company’s most profitable cystic fibrosis drug yet. Vertex’s second recent FDA win was the approval last month of Journavx in treating acute pain. The main thing to know about this drug is that it isn’t an opioid. It’s a safe bet the commercial potential for an effective non-opioid pain drug will be huge.
Another relatively new drug to market is already gaining momentum. Vertex is still in the early stages of the commercial launch of Casgevy, a one-time treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. The company now has more than 50 authorized treatment centers worldwide for the gene-editing therapy and anticipates significant patient growth throughout this year.
I think Alyftrek, Journavx, and Casgevy alone make Vertex an attractive growth stock. But the company’s pipeline programs could be icing on the cake. Vertex is evaluating inaxaplin in a late-stage study targeting APOL1-mediated kidney disease. Povetacicept is in phase 3 testing for treating another kidney disease, IgA nephropathy. In addition, the big biotech company has advanced zimislecel into a pivotal clinical trial as a potential cure for severe type 1 diabetes.
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David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Keith Speights has positions in Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Eli Lilly and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends AstraZeneca Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
