Nasdaq Market Whiplash: 3 Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist and Hold for Decades

Core Viewpoint - The Nasdaq Composite index has experienced significant volatility, recently entering a bear market but showing signs of recovery, presenting potential buying opportunities for long-term investors in select stocks [2][3]. Group 1: Alphabet - Alphabet's share price is down approximately 25% from its all-time high earlier this year, creating a favorable buying opportunity for long-term investors [4]. - The company has a price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 1.04, indicating reasonable valuation based on five-year earnings growth projections [4]. - Google Cloud is the fastest-growing major cloud services provider, and the rollout of its Gemini large language model has positioned it competitively against OpenAI's ChatGPT [5]. - Google Search has integrated generative AI features, leading to increased search usage and user satisfaction, which is expected to drive robust growth [6]. - Future revenue growth is anticipated from Alphabet's Waymo self-driving car technology unit [6]. Group 2: Intuitive Surgical - Intuitive Surgical's share price is down about 6% from the beginning of the year, but it remains a strong long-term investment [7]. - The company has over 10,670 robotic surgical systems installed globally, with nearly 2.7 million procedures performed last year, showcasing its market leadership [8]. - A significant 84% of Intuitive Surgical's total revenue in 2024 is expected to come from recurring sources, up from 71% in 2017, indicating strong cash flow [9]. - The company estimates that there are 8 million procedures annually that it can target, which is nearly three times its current procedure volume, with additional potential in 22 million procedures under development [10]. Group 3: Vertex Pharmaceuticals - Vertex Pharmaceuticals has achieved a 17.5% gain so far in 2025, indicating strong momentum [12]. - The company holds a virtual monopoly in treating cystic fibrosis, bolstered by the FDA approval of Alyftrek, which offers more convenient dosing and potentially higher profitability [13]. - Vertex's new drug Journavx, approved in January, is the first new class of pain medication in over 20 years, expected to be commercially successful due to its non-addictive properties [14]. - The company is also advancing the rollout of Casgevy, a gene-editing therapy for sickle cell disease, and has a promising pipeline with four late-stage programs, including one aimed at curing severe type 1 diabetes [15].