Should You Forget Pfizer and Buy These Unstoppable Stocks Instead?

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Things aren't getting much better for Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). The company is still suffering from the significant drop in sales of its coronavirus products and the less-than-impressive financial results it has produced during the past two years. And although Pfizer's revenue is growing again, that's not enough for the drugmaker to get back in the good graces of investors.

Pfizer has, unquestionably, made progress. Many new approvals and acquisitions have expanded its lineup and pipeline. However, it's fair to ask whether it's worth waiting for the stock to bounce back instead of investing in some of Pfizer's peers that are performing well right now. With that said, let's consider two stocks outpacing the market this year and might be worth investing in over Pfizer: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) and Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX).

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1. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

It has been an eventful past 12 months for Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The drugmaker leads the market for drugs to treat cystic fibrosis (CF) -- a rare disease that damages patients' internal organs -- registered important new approvals and clinical wins. In November 2023, Vertex announced that Casgevy, a gene editing medicine for two rare blood diseases developed with CRISPR Therapeutics, had earned its first regulatory green light in the U.K.

It has since been approved in many other regions and countries, including the European Union, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. Elsewhere, Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported positive phase 3 results for a next-gen combination CF therapy and a potential medicine for acute pain. Both could earn approval within a year.

Meanwhile, Vertex Pharmaceuticals continues to post strong financial results. In the third quarter, the company's revenue rose 12% from a year earlier to $2.8 billion, and earnings per share of $4.01 was up from the $3.97 reported in the year-ago period. There are still 20,000 patients out of 92,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals' targeted territories who are eligible for its CF medicine but have yet to start treatment.

The company estimates another 58,000 patients for Casgevy -- which costs $2.2 million per treatment course, at least in the U.S. Vertex's addressable market in acute pain could number in the millions. In other words, the drugmaker's existing lineup is still driving solid growth and could do it for longer, even without help.

Yet, it is getting plenty of help, allowing Vertex to perform even better. We haven't even mentioned the company's pipeline, which features several exciting candidates. Vertex Pharmaceuticals should continue delivering excellent performances.