A funny thing happens when the market keeps surging higher: It gets harder and harder to pick good stocks. 

Outsiders think the higher the market goes, the easier it is to make money. The truth is, the higher the market goes the harder it is to find growth stocks as an individual investor. Everything looks overvalued, and it’s hard to determine what stocks will continue higher and which ones will fizzle out. 

From experience, I have found that looking at historic and/or projected earnings per share (EPS) growth is one way to discover growth stocks that will continue to gain value through any market situation. It’s this type of stock that investors should seek to buy and hold. 

The following five stocks with a history of EPS growth, as well as expected growth ahead, look poised to continue with their winning ways.

#-ad_banner-#​1. Concept Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CORT)
This pharmaceutical company is the very definition of a growth stock. 

Shares have rocketed over 170% in the last year alone. What makes these gains truly astounding is that the industry as a whole advanced just 2% over the same time.

Typically, this type of hyper-appreciation would throw up a few red flags. However, my research indicates that this stock may still be in the beginning stage of its bullish advance. Here’s why…

Wall Street is projecting five-year annual EPS growth above 70% for Corcept, thanks largely to its Korlym product.

Korlym is used to treat Cushing’s Syndrome, a malady currently affecting around 20,000 Americans, with approximately 3,000 new cases diagnosed each year. It is suspected that many others with the condition go undiagnosed. 

Korlym’s expansion and Corcept’s other pipeline products will continue to drive growth well into the future. 

2.Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: VRTX)
This biotechnology company is among the fastest growing stocks on earth. Vertex boasts a projected five-year EPS growth rate of 68% due to its successful cystic fibrosis products and pending approvals.

A combination of Vertex’s Tezacaftor and Kalydeco drugs is pending approval in February 2018. Plus, the company is studying many other drug combinations that will cement its lead in the cystic fibrosis market. 

Thanks to FDA approval in August 2017 for Kalydeco to be used in over 600 patients with mutations responsive to the drug, revenue guidance was upped to $770 million to $800 million for the year. 

Add in the fact that Vertex is in the process of expanding its focus beyond cystic fibrosis into pain management and neurology, and the future is very bright for this growth stock. 

3. Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU)
Semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology projects 18% EPS growth in 2018 thanks to improving prices for its specialized chips. Demand is proliferating for Micron’s products, pushing production estimates and the company’s bottom line higher for coming years. 

Looking at the overall industry, projected PC shipments are improving, according to the International Data Corporation IDC. While still depressed, IDC’s study predicts a stabilizing of the consumer PC market which will help drive Micron’s continued growth.

The company has been moving toward producing solid-state storage drives (SSDs), which are faster and more energy efficient than traditional hard drives. Seagate (Nasdaq: STX), a Micron partner, shares its SSD technology with Micron, providing a significant market advantage. The SSD market is projected to grow by 17% on a compounded basis from 2016 to 2020 and will continue to fuel Micron’s growth.

Steady cash flow of around $3.20 billion in fiscal 2016 and $4.30 billion-plus in the first three quarters of fiscal 2017 proves Micron is an excellent choice for your growth portfolio. 

4.Nanometrics (Nasdaq: NANO)
This semiconductor equipment company in the midst of significant EPS growth. It boasts historical three- to five-year EPS growth of 34% plus on top of 17%-plus sales growth and a net margin of nearly 20%. Five-year projected EPS growth comes in at almost 32%, creating a compelling growth opportunity for longer-term investors.

The third quarter is forecasted to fall short of expectations, pushing shares down to support at the 200-day simple moving average (SMA). 

The cause of the shortfall is a delay of revenue recognition on multiple systems into Japan that require customer acceptance. As a result of the lower level of revenues, third-quarter earnings are now expected to be in the range of $0.20 to $0.22 per share. These low values still reflect improved gross margins of approximately 54%.

This short-term pullback sets up an ideal point. The company expects all revenues to be recognized in the fourth quarter and there has been zero change in demand for the Nanometrics’ products. If this situation holds true through the end of the year, I expect the stock to return to and then exceed its pre-drop levels. 

5. Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO)
An appropriate name for this growth monster, Momo is a social media platform whose shares have soared nearly 80% this year. 

According to Investors Business Daily, this stock boasts incredible 492% three-year EPS growth, with the next numbers due out on November 6. 

The company is morphing from a social media player to an entertainment platform with 90 million-plus monthly active users. Adding features like live streaming, short video, and the public’s current favorite Werewolf game, this innovator is poised to continue moving higher into the future. 

Despite my firm belief in the company, smart investors should wait until shares break above the 200-day SMA to enter the trade.

Risks To Consider: No matter how much research is put into a stock pick, anything and everything can happen in the market. The best stocks can turn sour with zero notice. Therefore, always use stops and diversify when investing.

Action To Take: Remember always to consider historical and projected (if available) EPS growth when choosing growth stocks. Consider purchasing one or more of the above five names.

Editor’s Note: Stocks like Tesla and Netflix have been some of the most obvious winners of the last decade, churning out predictable quadruple-digit gains even while investors have been ignoring them. So which major stocks are next? Click here to read our FREE report about the market’s next big winners …