Chinese electric vehicle start-up Nio Inc’s first employee Tianshu LI, and company’s leadership team celebrate at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Opening Bell to commemorate the company’s initial public offering (IPO) at the NYSE in New York, September 12, 2018.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stocks ended the first quarter on a downbeat, but investors should keep an eye on their long-term objectives.
Inflation worries, the Federal Reserve’s rate hike, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have shaken markets in the first three months of 2022. However, keeping a long-term perspective remains the best way to keep calm and collected, especially when picking stocks.
Some of Wall Street’s most accurate pros have highlighted five stocks for the long term, according to TipRanks, which tracks the best-performing analysts.
Here are the companies grabbing analysts’ attention this week.
Nio
Supply-side constraints and tightening economic activity in general have brought down high-growth and tech names, and for Nio (NIO), investors’ aversion toward China-based stocks has not benefited the company.
The EV automaker has come down more than 30% year-to-date, although this only makes the stock more attractive, according to Vijay Rakesh of Mizuho Securities. He said that the near-term headwinds do not reflect the company’s fundamentals, nor its outlook.
Rakesh rated NIO a buy, but he slightly lowered his price target to $60 from $65.
The analyst asserted that Nio is “positioned well for long-term growth with a focus on R&D, premium EV leadership, EV penetration accelerating in China, global expansion underway, and mass market launch potentially in 2022-23.” He expects the firm to ramp its production by the back half of the year.
Nio is expected to grow its presence in the European market, expanding to Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Rakesh does not expect the company to relinquish its premium EV leadership position any time soon.
Several factors have adversely affected Nio’s output as of late, including the earthquake in Japan and increasing Covid-19 restrictions in China. (See Nio Risk Analysis on TipRanks)
There are almost 8,000 financial analysts on TipRanks, of which Rakesh is ranked No. 31. He has been correct when rating stocks 72% of the time, and he has returned an average of 49.2% on each.
Twilio
Twilio (TWLO) has seen its share price decline about 35% year-to-date, but don’t count the stock out. The software firm still has several long-term growth levers to pull.
Samad Samana of Jefferies Group noted possible “international expansion, newer solutions, and cross-selling offerings from recent M&A” as cards up Twilio’s sleeve. Additionally, the company’s management is convinced they can pull off 30% or more growth over the next few years.
Samana rated the stock a buy, and he assigned a price target of $360 per share.
The top-rated analyst mentioned that 52% of the company’s revenues came from its messaging segment in 2021, which has been driving gross profits and pulling customers toward other products. Moreover, the firm has been expanding its workforce and has employed more experienced sales representatives. (See Twilio Stock Charts on TipRanks)
A few telecommunication giants like Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T), and T-Mobile (TMUS) have introduced registration fees for application to person messaging, which caused a slowdown in onboarding of Twilio customers. However, TWLO has made attempts to streamline this process. Samana believes this particular obstacle is merely a short-term speed bump.
On TipRanks, Samana holds the spot at No. 433 out of nearly 8,000 analysts. He has made the right call when rating stocks 54% of the time, and he has averaged returns of 28% per rating.
Meta Platforms
The United States and European Commission recently announced new guidelines for transfers of personal data from the EU to the U.S., known as the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework.
For now, Meta Platforms, (FB), remains in a regulatory safe-zone and should continue to reap benefits from advertising spending trends, according to Brian White of Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co.
He said that FB’s opportunities for monetization in the metaverse remain abundant, and its participation in the larger digital transformation will provide it with tailwinds. (See Meta Platforms Website Visits on TipRanks)
White rated the stock a Buy, and he declared a price target of $375 per share.
The analyst said that while regulatory scrutiny is something that investors will have to digest, if Meta is to conform to the newly agreed upon stipulations, it will avoid being fined or brought to tribunal. The entire crux of the Digital Markets Act is to put “an end to the dominance of Big Tech,” and to “Rein in the Power of the World’s Digital Gatekeepers,” so naturally, FB is in focus.
Considering Meta is more than 40% off from its September 2021 highs, the stock appears rather attractive to White. He added that the firm has some of the “highest operating margins in our coverage universe” and that it should trade at a premium.
On TipRanks, White holds No. 112 out of just under 8,000 other expert financial analysts. He maintains a current success rate of 72%, and he has returned 33.9% on average from his ratings.
Micron
Semiconductor supply chains have suffered, but Micron Technology‘s (MU) Dynamic Random Access Memory, or DRAM, product cycle is proving to be a significant tailwind for the chip company.
Hans Mosesmann of Rosenblatt Securities published his opinions on the stock after it recently reported its quarterly earnings, noting that the chipmaker beat and raised on its revenue guidance and is now expecting to expand gross margins for the coming quarter. These metrics come even as the company has been battling inflationary difficulties and component shortages. (See Micron Technology Earnings Data on TipRanks)
Mosesmann rated the stock a buy, and he provided a price target of $165.
For DRAM, the analyst argued that “The Mother of All Cycles” can only be enabled by DRAM technology and that Micron is steadily supplying this.
The analyst wrote that the company “remains our best cyclical play in semis,” adding that “secular drivers such as AI, Edge computing, data center growth, and deployments of 5G networks are creating opportunities for Micron.”
On top of the firm’s positive earnings, outlook, and various growth levers, Mosesmann highlighted Micron’s interim chief financial officer, who he believes should stay on at the role.
Out of close to 8,000 analysts, Mosesmann ranks as No. 5 on TipRanks. He has been correct when rating stocks 84% of the time, and he has returned an average of 77.9% on each of his picks.
Amazon
One of the world’s largest companies and retailers is projected to have enormous growth prospects, and is cheap. Mark Mahaney of Evercore ISI recently highlighted four core reasons why Amazon (AMZN) remains an attractive investment.
His factors spanned Amazon’s “underappreciated elements,” which included consumer interest in fast shipping, the company’s insulated advertising business, grocery potential, and a discounted valuation overall. (See Amazon.com Hedge Fund Activity on TipRanks)
Mahaney maintained a buy rating on the stock, and he offered a price target of $4,300 per share.
The analyst noted the firm has expanded its warehouse capacity by 350-million square feet over 2020 and 2021. This brings Amazon closer to its consumer. Moreover, AMZN has doubled its “super same-day shipping” capabilities over the last six months, as consumers have expressed deep interest in five-hour shipping rates.
Regarding the conglomerate’s advertising business, the analyst noted that due to Amazon’s “closed-loop ecosystem,” it is largely insulated from “privacy-driven ad attribution headwinds.” The e-commerce giant has also been compounding its ad assets like the Fire TV platform and its brand awareness on third-party entertainment entities.
Regarding Amazon’s grocery frontier, Mahaney reported that the “Just Walk Out” technology is game-changing and is now being integrated in new locations, albeit slowly. Groceries represent the largest consumer spending category. For Amazon, this indicates a huge total addressable market to capitalize on over time.
TipRanks has a database of almost 8,000 analysts, on which Mahaney ranks as No. 387. He maintains a success rate of 55%, and he has returned on average 25.3% from his ratings.
