Moderna, Inc. (MRNA): Among the Best Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Term

Talha Qureshi

Tue, May 13, 2025, 8:08 PM 5 min read

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.

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).

Moderna, Inc. (MRNA): Among Billionaire David E. Shaw’s Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential

A scientist surrounded by vials and beakers in a modern laboratory, proudly displaying a vaccine.

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.

Overall MRNA ranks 11th on our list of the best growth stocks to buy and hold for the long term. While we acknowledge the potential of MRNA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MRNA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.