Bull Market and Beyond: 2 Stocks Just Waiting to Soar

Any stock can have an impressive run, especially when broader equities are experiencing a bull market. Significantly fewer stocks can perform well through good and not-so-good times and deliver excellent returns over long periods. These are precisely the sort of corporations that long-term investors should seek out although they can be hard to find.

It's worth the effort, though, and to make the job a bit easier, here are two potential candidates: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) and Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ: AXSM) . Both biotechs have important short-term catalysts and excellent long-term prospects that should help boost their stock prices.

1. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals might look like an odd pick for a list of stocks ready to soar. The biotech has generally performed as well, if not much better, than the broader market. Thanks to its monopoly in the market for medicines that target the underlying causes of cystic fibrosis (CF), the drugmaker's financial results are solid and consistent.

That was the case again in the first quarter. Vertex's revenue of $2.7 billion jumped by 13% year over year, while its adjusted earnings per share of $4.76 was up 56% year over year.

However, Vertex also has multiple catalysts on the horizon. The company's late-stage pipeline and recent pivotal clinical trial successes will help transform its lineup in the next year or two. In CF, Vertex recently sent an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its next-gen therapy that proved non-inferiority to its current crown jewel, Trikafta. Its newer CF medicine has an advantage: once-daily dosing versus twice a day for Trikafta.

Elsewhere, the company is submitting documents to support approval of its treatment for acute pain, suzetrigine, to the FDA on a rolling basis. It is also lining up more clinical trials for this candidate. Further, Vertex started the phase 3 portion of a phase 2/3 clinical trial of inaxaplin as a potential treatment for APOL-1-mediated kidney disease. There are no medicines that address the underlying causes of this condition -- that's right up Vertex's alley.

The biotech has several exciting programs in early-stage studies, too. And, of course, it recently earned approval for Casgevy, a treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.

As things fall into place for Vertex, the market could reward the stock, even more than it already does. More importantly, Vertex Pharmaceuticals' ability to develop medicines in areas with high unmet needs will serve it well in the long run, just as it has in the past. Expect the biotech to deliver excellent returns well beyond the current bull run.

2. Axsome Therapeutics

Axsome Therapeutics has failed to keep pace with the market in the past year, although the company's performance hasn't been terrible. It was recently the target of a short-seller report that sank its stock price. Axsome is still doing relatively well nonetheless, in my view.

Beyond the noise, there is a lot to be excited about with this biotech. Though it generates little revenue and is unprofitable, Axsome has one of the more exciting pipelines among similarly sized biotech companies (its market cap is about $4 billion).

Axsome's two approved medicines -- depression treatment Auvelity, and Sunosi, which treats daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy patients -- are both undergoing late-stage clinical trials targeting other indications. Auvelity is being tested in Alzheimer's disease agitation and Sunosi in ADHD.

The biotech expects top-line results from these clinical trials in the second half of the year. Earlier this year, Axsome announced positive phase 3 results for AXS-12 in narcolepsy while inching toward regulatory submissions for AXS-14 in fibromyalgia and AXS-07 in acute migraines.

Axsome Therapeutics also has several programs in mid-stage studies. Within the next year, the biotech could and should earn a couple of new approvals. More of them, as well as label expansions, will follow in the year or two after.

The company's pipeline is impressive for a biotech this size, which speaks volumes about its innovative ability. Though Axsome Therapeutics isn't the most prominent biotech, it will likely be a winner in the long run.

Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Axsome Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .