2 No-Brainer Stocks to Buy Before the Next Bull Market

While no one can predict when the next prolonged bull move will appear, the stock market has proven time and again its ability to rebound from even the most dire periods of volatility. While many companies face unique challenges in the current macro environment, great businesses are still rising to the top and growing steadily despite these factors.

Here are two such no-brainer stocks to consider buying right now.

1. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX -0.06%) has continued to deliver gains against the backdrop of the broader volatile market over the last year, but this isn't only a testament to the typical resilience of the healthcare industry in times of economic turmoil. The company continues to rake in revenue, profits, and cash from its portfolio of cystic fibrosis medicines -- currently the only drugs on the market that target the underlying root causes of the genetic ailment.

In 2022, Vertex reported revenue of $9 billion, while net income came in at $3.3 billion and operating income at $4.3 billion. These three metrics represented 18%, 42%, and 55% increases, respectively, compared to 2021. The company closed out the 12-month period with cash and investments on its balance sheet in the amount of $11 billion.

The continued potential of its multi-billion-dollar portfolio of market-leading cystic fibrosis drugs is significant. These drugs face consistent (even growing) demand in an expanding addressable market, but management estimates that as many as 20,000 people worldwide could benefit from Vertex's approved drugs but aren't yet taking them.

Moreover, Vertex is working to carve out a name for itself in other lucrative and highly underserved segments of the rare disease drug market. Its pipeline includes a candidate called exa-cel, which it developed with CRISPR Therapeutics, that could be approved later this year. Exa-cel could not only be a one-time functional cure for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (rare blood disorders) but also the first CRISPR therapy ever approved for a genetic disease.

Vertex is also working with Moderna on another cystic fibrosis drug candidate for patients who can't benefit from its current portfolio of drugs. A few other candidates include multiple stem cell therapies for type 1 diabetes and a non-opioid drug candidate for acute pain. Vertex remains a promising business that looks to be only in the early stages of its long-term growth trajectory. Now could be a great time to scoop up the healthcare stock before the next bull market run.

2. Etsy

Etsy (ETSY 0.34%) has faced a challenging environment in recent quarters as the trajectory of discretionary spending has remained in flux, with household savings down and worries about a recession remaining at the forefront of many consumers' consciousness. However, Etsy is still generating wins on a number of key fronts, and its growth from pre-pandemic levels is stellar -- which I would argue remains a more accurate gauge of the company's overall business trajectory.

Looking at 2022, Etsy generated consolidated gross merchandise sales of $13 billion and consolidated revenue of $2.6 billion. These two figures represented increases of 1.6% (on a currency-neutral basis) and 10%, respectively, from 2021. The Etsy marketplace raked in gross merchandise sales just shy of $12 billion in 2022, up 35% on a compound annual basis compared to 2019 (before the pandemic). And the Etsy marketplace's gross merchandise sales in the fourth quarter of 2022 alone represented an incredible 145% increase from the same quarter in 2019.

Notably, Etsy is continuing to witness remarkable growth in its cohorts of active and habitual buyers. Etsy defines active buyers as those who have purchased at least once on its platform in the last year and habitual buyers as those with six or more purchase days and who have spent $200 or more in the past year. In the final quarter of 2022, Etsy's active and habitual buyer cohorts were up by 95% and 194%, respectively, on a three-year basis.

And while Etsy was unprofitable in 2022 -- largely due to non-cash writedowns of pandemic-era acquisitions, so not the same as operational losses -- it returned to profitability in the amount of $110 million in the final quarter of the year. A full-blown recession will impact any business that isn't deemed a source of essential spending, but even now, Etsy is proving the stickiness of its business model and the draw it poses for consumers.

Its continued growth from pre-pandemic levels and steady revenue generation are also green flags for this stock. For investors searching for a beaten-down stock to buy and hold for years, Etsy presents a unique opportunity to invest in a unique, underpenetrated niche of the multi-trillion-dollar e-commerce industry, and that may present a deal that's just too good to pass up.