Growth stocks can offer significant upside, though they're also risky and can be impacted by short-term headwinds. However, if you have a long-term investment strategy, you should be unaffected by short-term volatility.
Here are two promising growth stocks that investors can consider buying and holding for a decade or longer.
#1. Uber Technologies
Uber Technologies (UBER) began as a ride-hailing service, but has since evolved into a multifaceted technology company. Uber currently has a strong presence in mobility, food delivery, and freight, and is expanding into business, healthcare, autonomous vehicle research, and artificial intelligence (AI).
The company operates one of the world's largest ride-hailing and delivery networks. Uber's extensive reach, combined with strong brand recognition, gives it an advantage over smaller competitors.
Uber stock has gained 28.6% year-to-date, compared to the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) gain of 22.3%.
The ride-hailing service is still Uber's most profitable business. Uber has seen strong revenue growth, driven by a recovery in the mobility business following the pandemic and continued demand for delivery services. For the most recent second quarter, Uber’s total revenue grew 16% year-over-year to $10.7 billion, driven by a 19% uptick in gross bookings to $40 billion. Total trips rose by 21% to 2.8 billion.
In the second quarter, mobility and delivery revenue rose double-digits, but freight revenue remained unchanged from the prior-year quarter. Active platform consumers stood at 156 million. Furthermore, advertising revenue crossed $1 billion, helping the company report a net profit of $1 billion for the quarter.
Uber has expanded its food delivery business with the acquisition of Delivery Hero SE's foodpanda delivery business in Taiwan and a strategic partnership with Instacart (CART).
Recently, Uber announced a multiyear strategic partnership with Avride to integrate its delivery robots and autonomous vehicles into Uber and Uber Eats in the U.S. Prior to this, Uber partnered with WeRide to bring autonomous vehicles to the Uber platform in the UAE, beginning with Abu Dhabi later this year.
Uber's strong balance sheet, which includes $6.3 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, as well as a $1.7 billion free cash flow (FCF) balance, should allow the company to continue diversifying and expanding its operations.
Analysts that cover UBER stock expect earnings to grow by 23% to $1.07 per share in 2024, with earnings further rising by 108% to $2.23 per share in 2025.
Trading at 34.9x forward 2025 earnings, Uber seems expensive. However, Uber is a transformative company with a strong position in the ride-hailing and delivery markets. Furthermore, with aggressive expansion plans, it has significant growth potential in areas such as autonomous vehicles and AI, which could propel it to the top of the tech industry in a few years, making it a worthwhile stock to invest in right now.
Overall, on Wall Street, UBER stock is a "strong buy.” Of the 44 analysts covering UBER, 36 have rated it a “strong buy,” three have a “moderate buy” recommendation, and five suggest a “hold.” Its mean price target of $90.31 implies the stock could rise 14% from current levels. Its Street-high estimate of $114 suggests the stock could rally as much as 43.9% over the next 12 months.
#2. Avidity Biosciences
Avidity Biosciences (RNA) is a cutting-edge clinical-stage biotechnology company that specializes in developing RNA-based therapeutics for rare muscle disorders. Its AOC (Antibody-Oligonucleotide Conjugates) platform is a novel technology that combines antibodies and RNA-based drugs known as oligonucleotides.
Avidity stock has surged a whopping 392.5% year-to-date, wildly outperforming the broader market's gain.
Its AOC program focuses on treating rare disorders like myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which have few treatment options.
The company is currently testing AOC 1001, its lead candidate, for DM1, a genetic muscle disorder. It began the global Phase 3 trial in June. Avidity also received positive preliminary results from the Phase 1/2 EXPLORE44 trial for AOC 1044 (Del-zota) for DMD and AOC 1020 for FSHD.
Aside from its focus on genetic muscular disorders, Avidity intends to launch a cardiology pipeline in the fourth quarter of this year. If successful, this could serve as a significant long-term growth driver.
Avidity, which is in the clinical stage, has yet to generate product revenue, and relies heavily on cash reserves and occasional collaboration revenues. It has agreements with larger biopharma companies, such as Eli Lilly (LLY) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), to provide milestone payments and R&D funding, which helps to sustain operations.
In the second quarter, RNA generated $2 million in collaboration revenue. Avidity had $1.3 billion in cash on hand during the second quarter.
Despite the positive clinical trial results, Avidity stock carries the same risks as any other clinical-stage biotech company. It is best suited to long-term, risk-tolerant investors who believe in the future of RNA therapeutics.
Overall, on Wall Street, RNA stock is a "strong buy.” Of the 10 analysts covering RNA, nine have rated it a “strong buy,” and one has a “moderate buy” recommendation. Its mean price target of $70 implies the stock could rise as high as 57% from current levels. Its Street-high estimate of $96 suggests that RNA stock could rally as much as 115.4% over the next 12 months.
