In this article, we will look at the 12 Best Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Term.

What’s the Bull Case for US Equities?

The market closed last week mostly lower, however, the S&P 500 has been up more than 7% since April 11, indicating a returning positive sentiment. On May 10, David Lefkowitz, Equity Strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management, joined CNBC to discuss his bull case for the US equities. Lefkowitz acknowledged the volatility that has been around since the tariff announcement; however, he believes that backdrop remains fairly constructive. He elaborated that the market has had some significant buy signals since early April, characterised by the volatility index giving one of the highest readings, investor sentiment being cautious, and investor positioning has been depressed. Historically speaking, whenever these things have happened in the past, the US equities have performed exceptionally well in the preceding 6 to 12 months. Lefkowitz noted that he is not too concerned with the day-to-day news and volatility, as the market will get choppy on trade negotiation deals. Rather, he is more focused on the bigger picture, which indicates that stocks will ultimately end up higher over the next 12 months.

While answering a question regarding the recent rebound in the market, Lefkowitz highlighted that when the volatility index comes down, as it has over the past few weeks, history tells us that the market does not make new lows. Although the market will still be chopping a little. However, it is anticipated to stay within the historic average of 5%. Moreover, the equity strategist is also not concerned about the valuations and believes that as soon as the companies start posting earnings growth, the backdrop will help the market reach its next high.

While talking about his most convicted sectors, Lefkowitz noted that he likes secular growth stocks. He elaborated that growth as a sector was hit earlier this year due to doubts regarding AI trends and its ability to generate a return on investment. This has resulted in the sector being at the bottom of the market. However, Lefkowitz believes that the demand for AI products and the sophisticated infrastructure will keep growing for at least the next few years, thereby generating sustainable earnings growth.

With that, let’s take a look at the 12 best growth stocks to buy and hold for the long term.

Our Methodology

To compile the list of 12 best growth stocks to buy and hold for the long term, we used the Finviz stock screener, Seeking Alpha, and Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 hedge fund database. Using the screener, we aggregated a list of growth stocks that have grown their sales by at least 30% over the past 5 years. Next, we cross-checked the 5-year sales growth for each stock from Seeking Alpha and ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund investors.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

12 Best Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Term

12. BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX)

5-Year Sales Growth: 90.27%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35

BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) is an international biotechnology company based in Germany. The company mainly focuses on developing immunotherapies and vaccines for cancer and other infectious diseases. It is also recognized as one of the pioneers in mRNA technology, a technology that was central in developing the first vaccine for COVID-19 in collaboration with Pfizer.

On May 7, Leerink Partners analyst Daina Graybosch maintained a Buy rating on the stock. The analyst highlighted the strategic importance of the company’s COVID-19 vaccines. Graybosch noted that the US regulatory challenges could potentially impact vaccine sales, however, BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) has been reporting stable interactions with the FDA regarding its vaccines. Graybosch pointed out that the sales of vaccines are critical to funding its oncology plans. Moreover, the analyst also likes the development strategy for the company’s bispecific program called BNT327. The program is expected to stand out in the mid-term as it involves a combination of traditional chemotherapy and antibody drug conjugates.

During its fiscal first quarter results for 2025 BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) highlighted that clinical data for phase 2 studies of BNT327 shows a median overall survival of 16.8 months. This compares favorably to existing treatments like Roche’s Tecentriq plus chemo. The company ranks as one of the best growth stocks to buy and hold for the long term.

11. Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)

5-Year Sales Growth: 127.46%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) is another biotechnology company that specializes in mRNA technology. The company focuses on curing infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cardiovascular disorders. It has a portfolio of 44 therapeutics and vaccines.

On May 5, Courtney Breen from Bernstein maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a price target of $28. Breen noted that despite Moderna, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:MRNA) cost-saving measures, the fiscal quarter 2025 revenue remained below consensus. The company’s first-quarter revenue was $108 million, down from $167 million in Q1 2024. Management noted that the decline was due to lower net product sales. Breen highlighted that while the company reaffirmed its 2025 revenue guidance of $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion, uncertainties around regulatory timelines and product uptake-especially for upcoming PDUFA decisions, limit near-term revenue growth. However, in the longer term, the analyst believes that future growth will be driven by successful pipeline execution.

The fiscal first quarter release indicates a strong product pipeline for Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA). The pipeline includes Next-generation COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA-1283), mRNA-1345 for Respiratory syncytial virus, mRNA-1083 and mRNA-1010 for seasonal flu, among others. The company has multiple products in the late-stage trials, close to regulatory submissions. It ranks as one of the growth stocks to buy and hold for the long term.