Got some money you're looking to invest in growth, but you're leery of following the herd into a crowded trade? That leeriness is understandable. The market is undeniably top-heavy right now, meaning shares of a small handful of its very biggest and best-known companies have raced far too high, leaving them -- and the market as a whole -- at risk of a sizable pullback. You may well be better off steering clear of the most obvious picks at this time.
That doesn't mean you should simply avoid the whole market here, however, or, for that matter, avoid growth stocks. You just need to be pickier about your prospects and shop around for names that aren't currently on everyone's radar.
With that as the backdrop, here's a rundown of three growth stocks you can feel good about buying right now, with each offering more upside than downside for the foreseeable future.
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SoundHound AI
It's been a wild ride for SoundHound AI (SOUN 3.59%) shares over the past couple of years. The stock soared in 2024, when interest in its AI-powered voice/conversational platform started to gel. Before the end of that year, restaurants using its Smart Ordering tech had collectively processed over 100 million voice-based sales.
As is so often the case with a new technology, though, the market's not sure how much leeway to give this name. Investors' euphoria faded in early 2025, then was rekindled in the latter half of last year when broader AI mania took on a life of its own, before fading again beginning in October despite its new partnership with restaurant ordering tech outfit OpenTable forged in the meantime. Investors really seem to be struggling with the company's continued losses.
NASDAQ: SOUN
Key Data Points
This stock's inability to start and sustain forward progress, however, may have less to do with ongoing losses than you might think.
The fact is, there's nothing happening here that hasn't happened to most young technology companies and their stocks. Names like Tesla and Block (formerly known as Square) come to mind. It took these outfits years to work their way out of the red and into the black, and their stocks were wildly volatile in the interim. But it was worth it in the long run. SoundHound should be too, particularly in light of Precedence Research's prediction that the global voice-based AI agent market is set to grow at an average annualized pace of nearly 18% through 2035. SoundHound AI is positioned to capture at least its fair share of this long-term growth.
Perhaps more important to interested investors, this young stock's initial volatility may have finally run its full course. From here, also like we saw from Tesla and Block, SoundHound shares may now start moving more in step with the company's march toward profitability.
Viking Therapeutics
There's no denying Viking Therapeutics (VKTX 1.24%) was late to the weight-loss drug party that players like Eli Lilly (LLY 2.22%) and Novo Nordisk (NVO 1.79%) already attended. Indeed, Lilly and Novo are even showing signs of post-party hangover, in the form of weakness, since the excitement surrounding these then-new weight-loss drugs peaked in 2024 (as Viking shares themselves did, latching onto the broader movement's buzz at that time).
There may be a strategic advantage to being a second-mover -- or even a third-mover -- in a nascent industry, though. Not only does it mean you're able to learn from the first-movers' missteps and successes, but it also gives you additional time to come up with a better product. It also means you're entering a more seasoned and discriminating market, where consumers are ready and willing to test-drive options that just weren't available in the business's infancy.
NASDAQ: VKTX
Key Data Points
To this end, Viking's lead weight-loss drug candidate VK2735 may be based on the same basic GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) science that Eli Lilly's Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's Ozempic are. Because it also targets (GIP) (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptors, however, it's believed that it could be a more effective and more tolerable weight-loss treatment than early alternatives that only focus on GLP-1.
It's flexible too, with an injectable form currently in phase 3 trials, while an orally administered form is currently in phase 2 testing.
Only time will tell what sort of reception Viking Therapeutics' obesity drugs will get. For what it's worth, though, whatever's in the cards whenever it's due for this pharmaceutical outfit, analysts believe practically none of it is currently reflected in the stock's value. The current one-year consensus price target of $93.39 is nearly 200% above this ticker's present price.
Vistra
Finally, add Vistra (VST +0.60%) to your list of growth stocks to buy now if you've got $1,000 you're ready to put to work for a while.
Some might debate whether or not it's a growth stock at all. Vistra is a utility outfit and an energy wholesaler. But both are typically categorized as value industries. It's not even a cutting-edge utility outfit that's ushering in a new era of electricity production using clean, renewable sources like solar or wind. Over half of the power it generates comes from natural gas, while another 20% still comes from coal. In the meantime, most of its recent and projected double-digit revenue growth stems from past and future acquisitions rather than the organic expansion of its existing businesses.
There are a couple of critical details that really bolster the bullish thesis here, however.
NYSE: VST
Key Data Points
First, while it's far from being its biggest business, Vistra owns and operates a significant number of nuclear reactors that can quickly meet the growing need for electricity that infrastructure-intensive alternatives like solar, wind, and hydro just won't be able to anytime soon. Indeed, the company's six nuclear reactors at four different sites generate about one-fifth of its total power output right now. Perhaps more importantly, Vistra has the proven experience necessary to secure the permits needed to add new nuclear power facilities when and where they're needed. It matters simply because the International Atomic Energy Agency believes worldwide nuclear power output could double between now and 2050.
Here's the other reason Vistra is a growth name in an industry that isn't exactly known for growth: Geography. Most of the company's operations are in Texas, California, New York, and Illinois, where a big chunk of the nation's newest artificial intelligence data centers are popping up. In this vein, it recently inked a nuclear power supply purchase agreement with Facebook parent Meta Platforms, if that tells you anything.
