My 3 Favorite Stocks to Buy Right Now

Key Points

• Amazon's investments in AWS and other businesses should pay off handsomely.

• Enbridge ranks among the most resilient stocks around.

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has exceptionally strong growth prospects.

• 10 stocks we like better than Amazon ›

Back in the 1970s, the stock brokerage firm E.F. Hutton aired commercials that featured the line, "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen." That statement is no longer as true as it once was. However, I think we can replace E.F. Hutton with Jerome Powell.

Powell, of course, is the chair of the Federal Reserve. When he speaks, the financial community definitely listens. On Tuesday, Powell said something that certainly caught my attention. While giving a speech in Rhode Island, the Fed chief stated that "equity prices are fairly highly valued."

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He was right. I'd even say he put it too mildly, considering that Warren Buffett's favorite valuation metric (the ratio of total U.S. stock market capitalization to GDP) is at its highest level ever.

That doesn't mean, though, that I don't like some stocks in a generally frothy market. Here are my three favorite stocks to buy right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Amazon

I'm not going to pretend that Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock is cheap. After all, the e-commerce and cloud giant sports a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 29.2. However, I will argue that earnings-based valuation metrics haven't mattered in the past with Amazon and probably shouldn't now.

There's a simple reason why that's the case. Amazon invests so much of its profits into growing the business that its bottom line doesn't tell the full story. That said, the company's earnings continue to soar, jumping 35% year over year in the second quarter of 2025.

Where is Amazon investing its profits now? Primarily in Amazon Web Services (AWS). Investors should be happy about those investments, considering the massive AI tailwind that the cloud unit has. Importantly, AWS is much more profitable than Amazon's e-commerce business.

Don't ignore the company's other initiatives, though. Amazon has spent a small fortune to launch its Project Kuiper satellite network. That investment should begin to pay off soon, with plans to begin providing satellite internet services later this year. I'm also eager to see what Amazon is doing with its efforts to compete against Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) in the smart glasses market.

2. Enbridge

When the stock market is priced for perfection, it'll eventually sink. But some stocks should fare quite well because investors see them as safe havens. I view Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) as one of those stocks.

The company is probably best known for its leadership in the midstream energy sector. That's understandable, with its pipelines transporting roughly 30% of the crude oil produced in North America and 20% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. However, Enbridge is also now the biggest natural gas utility by volume in North America.

I think these businesses make this stock one of the most resilient around. Enbridge has negligible exposure to commodity prices. Around 80% of its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is protected from inflation. The Trump administration's tariffs don't present a big threat to Enbridge. AI also presents a key growth opportunity for the company. Data centers that host AI systems require massive amounts of power, driving demand for natural gas.

Enbridge doesn't have to deliver tremendous share price appreciation to generate double-digit total returns. Its dividend yield currently stands at 5.5%. Even better, the company has increased its dividend for an impressive 30 consecutive years.

3. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Can you picture thousands of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) stopping taking the only medications that treat the underlying cause of their genetic disease because the economy stumbles or the stock market tanks? Me either. That's one reason why I like Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) in uncertain times. But Vertex isn't just a defensive stock. It has exceptionally strong growth prospects.

For one thing, Vertex's profits should rise over the next few years even without launching new products. That's because the company's newest CF therapy, Alyftrek, has a lower royalty burden than its other CF drugs. Vertex expects that most patients on its top-selling CF therapy, Trikafta/Kaftrio, will switch to Alyftrek over time.

Vertex is launching new products, though. Casgevy, the first CRISPR gene-editing therapy approved, continues to gain momentum. Journavx, which won U.S. approval earlier this year, is achieving so much success with physicians, patients, and payers that the company is upping its investment in sales and marketing for the non-opioid pain drug.

I fully expect two other products will be added to Vertex's lineup in the not-too-distant future. The drugmaker expects to file for global regulatory approvals of zimislecel in treating severe type 1 diabetes next year. It also hopes to file for U.S. accelerated approval of povetacicept in treating IgA nephropathy in 2026.

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Keith Speights has positions in Amazon, Enbridge, Meta Platforms, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Enbridge, Meta Platforms, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.