I don’t like the term “growth stock” all that much. Investors want their money to grow in some shape, form, or fashion with every stock they buy. However, I understand that textbook growth stocks generate market-beating growth that not every stock will deliver.
And I do have several favorite stocks that fit that description. My top growth stock to buy in November is one that I’ve owned for several years and believe will handily outperform the market over the long term.
Image source: Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: VRTX) has three great ways to grow. I’ll start with the big biotech company’s most slam-dunk growth driver — its cystic fibrosis (CF) franchise.
Although Vertex has five approved CF therapies, Kaftrio/Trikafta is the clear star. This drug generated 86% of the company’s total revenue in the second quarter of 2025. But Kaftrio/Trikafta’s sales rose by only 4% year over year in Q2. How can CF be Vertex’s easiest path to growth?
In December 2024, Vertex won U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its newest CF therapy, Alyftrek. The company expects that Alyftrek will cannibalize most of the sales for Kaftrio/Trikafta because of its efficacy and convenient once-daily dosing. Granted, this new drug is unlikely to increase Vertex’s CF revenue significantly. However, Alyftrek has a much lower royalty burden than Vertex’s other CF therapies, so it will boost profits.
The second Vertex that should grow is its product lineup beyond CF, which features two products. Casgevy is the first approved CRISPR gene editing therapy. It treats two rare blood disorders, sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. I’m even more bullish about Journavx, a non-opioid that’s safe and effective at relieving acute pain. I view Journavx as a no-brainer blockbuster drug for Vertex.
Vertex’s third growth path could easily eclipse the first two, if all goes well. I’m referring to the company’s promising pipeline. Vertex expects to file for global regulatory approvals of zimislecel next year as a one-time functional cure for severe Type 1 diabetes. The patient population for the islet cell therapy’s initial target indication is around 60,000. The biotech leader also hopes to file for FDA accelerated approval in the first half of 2026 for povetacicept in treating IgA nephropathy. This kidney disease affects 300,000 people in the U.S. and Europe.
That’s not all. Vertex is evaluating inaxaplin in a phase 3 clinical study targeting APOL1-mediated kidney disease, which has a patient population of around 250,000. It also has late-stage studies either on the way or beginning soon that seek to pursue additional approvals for Journavx in treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy (with a patient population of over 2 million) and povetacicept in treating primary membranous nephropathy (which affects 250,000 patients).
In sum, Vertex’s programs in pivotal clinical testing target indications that affect a combined total of over 2.75 million patients. To put that into perspective, an estimated 109,000 people worldwide have CF.
There are two factors related to Vertex that give me great comfort. The first is that the company’s business shouldn’t be impacted by an economic pullback. Vertex enjoys a monopoly in treating the underlying cause of CF. Physicians won’t stop prescribing Kaftrio/Trikafta and Alyftrek because the economy stumbles. They won’t stop prescribing Vertex’s other approved products, either. What about tariffs? They should have minimal effect on the company as well.
The second thing about Vertex that gives me a warm-and-fuzzy feeling is that I know it won’t be waylaid by a patent cliff anytime soon. Sure, key patents for CF therapies Kalydeco and Symdeko/Symkevi expire in 2027. But remember: Vertex’s biggest CF moneymaker, by far, is Kaftrio/Trikafta. Its patents don’t expire until 2037. Alyftrek’s patents expire in 2039, while Journavx’s patents expire in 2040.
However, Vertex faces one major risk that all drugmakers face. It’s possible that the company’s pipeline candidates could flop in clinical testing or seem to succeed yet still fail to secure regulatory approvals.
I’m not too worried about this risk, though. Vertex’s track record with late-stage programs is pretty good. Also, the company has so many promising candidates that it could weather a setback or two.
Is Vertex Pharmaceuticals bulletproof? I wouldn’t go that far. But this growth stock should be a big winner over the next several years with just a little good luck.
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Keith Speights has positions in Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
