Shares of SoundHound AI have been all over the place lately, but that extreme volatility seems to have run its course.
Viking Therapeutics wasn’t the first name at the weight loss drug party. This, however, can prove to be an advantage.
Utilities and energy wholesaler Vistra has the right assets in the right place at this important and crucial time.
10 Actions We Like More Than SoundHound AI ›
Have some money you want to invest in growth, but afraid to follow the herd in a crowded trade? That shyness is understandable. The market is undoubtedly extremely tough right now, meaning that the shares of a small number of its biggest and best-known companies have risen far too high, leaving them — and the market as a whole — at risk of a sizeable pullback. You may do well to steer clear of the most obvious choices at this time.
That doesn’t mean you should simply avoid the entire market here, or avoid growth stocks for that matter. You just have to be pickier about your prospects and look for names that aren’t currently on everyone’s radar.
With that as a backdrop, here’s a list of three growth stocks you can feel good about buying right now, each offering more upside than downside for the foreseeable future.
Image source: Getty Images.
It’s been a wild ride for SoundHound AI(NASDAQ:SOUN) actions in the last two years. Shares rose in 2024 as interest in its AI-powered voice/conversation platform began to grow. Before the end of that year, restaurants using Smart Ordering technology had collectively processed more than 100 million voice sales.
However, as is often the case with new technology, the market is not sure how much leeway to give this name. Investor euphoria faded in early 2025, then reignited in the second half of last year as the broader AI craze took on a life of its own, before fading again starting in October, despite its new partnership with restaurant ordering tech outfit OpenTable, meanwhile. Investors really seem to be struggling with the company’s continued losses.
However, this stock’s inability to start and sustain progress going forward may have less to do with ongoing losses than you might think.
The truth is, there’s nothing happening here that hasn’t happened to most young tech companies and their stocks. Name as adze and Block (formerly known as Square) comes to mind. These outfits took years to get out of the red and into the black, and their stocks were extremely volatile in the meantime. But it was worth it in the long run. SoundHound should be too, especially in light of Precedence Research’s prediction that the global market for voice-based AI agents will grow at an average annual rate of nearly 18% through 2035. SoundHound AI is positioned to capture at least its fair share of that growth over the long term.
Perhaps more importantly for interested investors, the initial volatility of this young stock may have finally run its full course. From here, also As we’ve seen from Tesla and Block, SoundHound stock may now begin to move more in step with the company’s march to profitability.
It cannot be denied Viking therapeutics(NASDAQ: VKTX) he’s late to the diet drug party that gamers like Eli Lilly(NYSE: LLY) and Novo Nordisk(NYSE: NVO) has already participated. Indeed, Lilly and Novo are even showing signs of an after-party hangover, in the form of weakness, since the hype surrounding these then-new weight-loss drugs peaked in 2024 (as did Viking themselves, latching onto the wider movement at the time).
Still, there may be a strategic advantage to being a second — or even third — engine in an emerging industry. Not only does it mean you can learn from the mistakes of the first movers and good luck, but it also gives you extra time to come up with a better product. It also means you’re entering a more experienced and discriminating market, where consumers are ready and willing to test options that simply weren’t available when the business started.
To that end, Viking’s lead weight loss drug candidate, VK2735, may rely on the same underlying GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) science as Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic. Because it also targets (GIP) (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptors, it is believed to be a more effective and tolerable weight loss treatment than early alternatives that focus only on GLP-1.
It is also flexible, with an injectable form currently in phase 3, while an oral form is currently in phase 2.
Only time will tell what kind of reception Viking Therapeutics’ obesity drugs will receive. However, for what it’s worth, whatever is on the books whenever it’s due for this pharmaceutical outfit, analysts believe that virtually nothing 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 current price.
Finally, add View(NYSE: VST) to your list of growth stocks to buy now, if you have $1,000, you’re ready to put them to work for a while.
Some might debate whether or not it is a growth stock. Vistra is a utility outfit and energy wholesaler. But both are usually classified as value industries. It’s not even a cutting-edge utility outfit ushering in a new era of electricity generation using clean, renewable sources like solar or wind. More than half of the power it generates comes from natural gas, while another 20% comes from coal. Meanwhile, most of its recent and projected double-digit revenue growth comes from past and future acquisitions rather than organic expansion of its existing businesses.
However, there are some critical details that really support the bullish thesis here.
First, while far from 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 simply won’t be able to do any time soon. Indeed, the company’s six nuclear reactors at four different sites generate about a fifth of its total power now. Perhaps more importantly, Vistra has the proven experience needed to obtain the necessary permits to add new nuclear power facilities when and where they are needed. It matters simply because the International Atomic Energy Agency believes that global nuclear power production could double between now and 2050.
Here’s the other reason Vistra is a name on the rise in an industry not exactly known for growth: Geography. Most of the company’s operations are in Texas, California, New York and Illinois, where much of the country’s newest AI data centers are emerging. In this regard, it recently concluded a deal to purchase the nuclear power source with the Facebook parent Meta platformsif that tells you anything.
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James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Block, Meta Platforms, SoundHound AI, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk and Viking Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
3 Growth Stocks to Invest $1,000 in Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool
